AN:
Trigger Warning for Chapter
Many Year's Ago
Somewhere in the Endless Ocean
Sometimes she hated being constantly on the open sea. She was tired, at her wits end and her 15-month-old son would just not be content without her in the room. And worst of all, he had started to move. He grew his sea legs quickly as he managed to walk most of the top deck by himself, often ending up falling onto his knee. But ore often than not he would get back up and carry on.
She and John were constantly at odds with each other as his role Captaining the ship was driving a wedge between them as most days their grief for the child they lost got the better of them when they did speak to each other.
A month ago the Captain had to use some of the little coin that had managed to save to make the much needed repairs to the Godspeed as the ship had befallen victim to a few rough storms on transit to he next port. But with little jobs they could take because of a war that had raged on the mainland, it meant they couldn't carry as much cargo as they usually did. They had been hit hard by outside forces they couldn't control, but the little hope they had of thing getting better was when she found out she was with child again.
But their happiness of a second child was short lived only two months into term she suddenly felt a painful cramp come from her belly. They had been lucky they had been docked when the pain got worse. John's first mate had run to the nearest healer in the seaside town they had dock in, only for the healer to be reluctant o come aboard the ship, but she couldn't move or be moved. In the end the coin he had saved had been given to the healer as an extra incentive to help her. Only he was already too late.
It had been a month since she had even shared the same bed with her love. A month since they had made decent coin and a month since the ceiling of their cabin had started to leak.
It was day like these she somewhat missed her old life. The freedom she felt when jumped from high places. Running through the trees, now she was stuck on a ship 24/7. But she needed a stretch her legs on the mainland with finding a way to find some coin for the ship.
"Maybe I can help you with that" a voice made her jump as she picked up a knife from her husband's table standing protectively over her son's sleeping form, she saw a man with short curly sandy blonde hair in strange clothing. He appeared from nowhere. They were in the middle of the ocean, how the hell did he get onboard without alerting anyone?.
"Who are you?". she demanded out of the man holding the knife tightly in her hand "What do you want?".
"I'm in need of your assistance with a little…problem, I have".
She knew what that meant. He needed her to kill someone.
"That's not my life anymore" she tells him not lowering the knife "There are other Assassins that can help you".
"Yet I came to you" he retorted with a sly smirk "Tell me Amelia, what would you do in return for enough coin to fix this rust bucket and for you" the man pointed at the ship as the bucket in the middle of the room continued to fill with drop of sea and rain water "And for your Captain to continue on with your lives with your little son behind you worry free".
The redhead involuntarily glanced back to the sleeping toddler behind her, who hadn't stirred this whole time. It did sound good but the God of the Underworld needed to persuade her further. With a click of his fingers a fat pouch of coin appear in the middle of her bed. Just half of that would fix the ship.
"Let's call that a deposit for your services" Hades tells the young assassin "There's another one waiting for you once your target is dead and gone".
The seconds stretched as the redhead thought the offer through. But she was desperate to help her family out of this rut. Even if someone had to die for it.
"What do you need?" she asks lowering the knife to her side.
"I need someone dead before they complete a task that gets them into Mount Olympus" a curious brow grew on the redheads face at this.
"Do I at get a name?".
"Hercules".
Camelot
A Few Weeks Ago
The former Evil Queen didn't know what to expect when she entered the dimply lit diner to find her true love inside. Both Snow and Charming said nothing to her as they came back outside with a drawing place-mat full of writing in the Prince's hand. The only indication the couple gave the former Queen to her true loves dwindling condition was the look Snow gave her before she quickly hid her head and face into David's waiting chest as the tears she had held back finally left escaped.
It was Merlin himself that met her at the door as the bell above it rung out to announce her entrance. Seeing Amelia's love the sorcerer gave her as much as a smile as he could muster at that time.
"Regina" he quietly greets the former Queen before he gazes over to the figure slumped over the table of a booth as her eye's followed to see her love sat there "It won't be long now" he informs her referring to the dying assassin who didn't even have the energy to look up see the woman she loved enter the diner.
"She took some of her healing tonic to ease the pain. Whatever you need to say to her, say it now, for it may be the words she carries with her into the next world".
Nodding in understanding the sorcerer left the former Queen to say her goodbyes to her love only for the older woman to stand frozen in her place as she watched the woman take in slow deep breaths like she was simply just sleeping there in the booth.
Forcing her feet forward the Queen gently slid into the seat next to her as she saw her hand resting on the surface of the table as Amelia rested her head on her other arm as an empty vial that held her healing tonic sat on the table in front of her next to a full one, ready to be taken when she was ready to slip away.
She remembered what Anastasia had said when her love's life was under threat before during the ball. That it couldn't bring someone back from the brink of death only ease them into the next, and that's all Regina could be thankful for the moment. She wouldn't have to suffer anymore. That's what she deserved.
Lightly place her hand on top of her's, she felt her love stir slightly at the touch making her taking in a deep breath through her nose and turn her head towards the person she knew was there from sweet perfume that hung in the air. The one she remembered her wearing the first time they kissed all those years ago that ignited the spark between them as she reached her thumb up to caress the skin on her hand to tell her Queen she could hear here despite her eye's being too heavy to open them to gaze upon the woman that had changed her entire life.
"Melia" the former Queen breathed out seeing the woman respond to like this as a watery smile grew on her lips "I'm so sorry, I-" the words caught in her throat as she felt hot tears stream down her face. She should've fought Emma harder, done something more to stop her from taking her, even if she died right on Granny's floor.
"This isn't your fault Regina" her voice slowly crocked out. Every word felt like they hurt as she cringed at every sound that left her lips. The assassin's eyes fluttered open as she saw her love sat next to her. Slightly blurred from the way the healing tonic made her feel from taking it. She wished she could say she was feeling better from the drunk feeling the tonic gave her
"I should be the one saying sorry" her assassin suddenly told her.
"Why?" she asked with confused furrowed brows she wasn't the one currently dying.
"For not telling you about the baby" the redhead's words made her remember the sense of betrayal she felt when she found out about the assassin's condition. It made sense now thought, the conversation they had just before Emma took the darkness. The talks about their future. I was all going towards telling her that she was pregnant.
She even mistook her for wanting to adopt Robin and Zelena's child. She called herself stupid for wanting to look beyond the weekly fights to have a life together they would've had it they hadn't put their plans for vengeance ahead of them.
In truth she had forgotten about the baby her half-sister had happily announced to them, in the chaos that ensured after she saw her love die at Arthur's hands and with Juno taking over her mind and body.
"Melia-" she started to tell her love that it was okay, that she didn't need to apologize but the redhead stopped her before she could.
"Don't tell me it's okay. It's not" she tells her love as she uses all the strength she had in that moment to push her heavy body to sit up in the booth with the former Queen doing her best to help her as held her held herself up on the edge of the table with a hand gripping the edge of the table
"I just wish I knew what it was" the redhead wished out-loud to herself as she felt the former Queen rest a hand over her stomach, over the bump she should've noticed growing by the week, but she'd been so wrapped up in Emma being the Dark One everything else, she realized the redhead had no real good opportunity to tell her something like this.
That's when the former Queen remembered what the deity had said to Merlin when she was left to fend for herself after Arthur and Zelena disappeared.
"A girl" Regina suddenly told the assassin.
"What?" she almost whispered .
"J-Juno, she uh said she was the only reason her daughter was alive. She was talking about-".
"The baby" she breathed out as a flutter of warmth spread through her abdomen at the thought of having a little girl, she always dreamed of having a one, and now it would die along with her. The seconds of joy of finding out what she was going to have turned into sorrow at the reminder that she wasn't going to live long enough to hold her in her arms as her love joined her in the heartbreak she felt at that moment as she slid herself closer to the assassin as the redheads tuned her head to rest her forehead against the Queen's as she felt a gentle thumb wiped away the tears that fell from her eye as her own fell down her cheeks.
There were a thousand things she wanted to tell her true love in that moment before she took the second vial. She wanted to thank her for believing in her, for loving her as much as she had over the years but more importantly for being by her side even in her darkest day as the Evil Queen. But nothing she could say would ever convey how much she meant to her, and how much it would hurt to lose her.
"This isn't goodbye" the redhead tells her Queen "You'll find me again. I'll be waiting for you. In the tavern, the one we were supposed to meet in again" the thought made a watery smile grow on the Queen's lips as the redhead watched took in every detail of her face to take away with her "You have tell me everything that's happened to you. The good and the bad no matter how silly you may think it it. I want to know everything. About the lives our son's have, about our family. Just make sure you make me wait this time".
"I promise" she swore to her truelove sealing her promise with a gentle kiss to the redhead's lips lingering for as long as she could before she knew she would have to leave her love "Thank you" she whispered on her love lips as she pulled away "For everything. I love you Amelia Montague" the words finally broke the Queen's composure as she spoke her love's full name for the first time as she held onto the woman for as long as she could as sobs racked through her body, burying her head into her shoulder. She didn't want to let go, not just yet.
"I've done my job, Queenie" she tells her Queen as she took a hold of the second vial of her healing tonic into her hand and shot it down her throat ready to meet her maker with Juno along with her.
"I love you Regina Mill's. Always".
The Underworld
Present
The sharp knock on her old bathroom door made the assassin come out of the last real memories he had of Camelot as jolted on the spot to find herself stood in front of her mirror staring at the image of herself in the reflective glass stood in nothing but a white towel that covered her slowly healing bruised body. Every patch of visible skin over her shoulders were covered in fresh red and purple bruises.
The swollen eye that had closed it shut had thankfully healed enough she that could see again through that eye, but it would be a while for the bruise to heal. But it wasn't the bruises that covered her entire body that gave her pause for thought, it were the words that her former family had cut into her skin as a permanent reminder of what she was to them.
Traitor
Bastard
Murderer
Down her arms across the back of her shoulders and one on her chest rang through her mind on repeat as she felt the pain every time she caught sight of them. Each one made her want to curl up on the floor and hide from the rest of the world.
She had finally been broken. Fighting back the tears that stung in her eye's her breath shuddered as she felt the full force of the hours she had endured under the assassin's 'care'.
She had to give it to the them. Their clear goal once they found her was to break her, and they had. Despite seeing her the one family she loved again, she felt like some part of herself had already been lost to them.
"Melia" she heard Regina's muffled voice from the other side of the locked door, it had been a while since the former Queen had heard the shower turn off and nothing since "Are you okay?".
Steeling herself, the assassin took in a deep breath as she wiped away the tears that did manage to escape her tears to quickly built the wall she would show the world around her once she stepped out of the bathroom. The one she always put on around her family when things managed to overwhelm her. And now they wanted to take her back to the land of the living.
She couldn't. She was done with her life. She had caused too much pain to be able to face the world. But she would have to face her love sooner than she though as she pulled on a robe tight against her body making sure it hid every word that marred her skin from the former Queen in the next room.
Hearing the door unlock from the other side, the older brunette step away from the door to let the redhead step out of the bathroom with her long damp red-hair sat over her shoulder.
"Don't you think that's a bit ironic now" Amelia told her truelove with a raised curious brow with her arms crossed over her chest "Checking that I'm still alive".
The statement took the woman in front of her aback for a second as she thought through what she was doing "I, uh- Sorry. I didn't think of it like that" she stammered out in slight embarrassment.
"It's fine. Don't worry" she said reached up with her right hand to brush her hair behind her ear only to hiss in pain as a shot of pain goes through her arm that gets noticed by the older woman.
"Are you in pain?" the dark haired woman asked in concern.
"I'm fine" she tells her love "I might actually get a chance to heal now that-" her words caught in her throat. Now that she was away from the others she wanted to say, but something stopped her. "Did you uh want something?" she asks her partner changing the subject quickly.
"We wanted to see if you were up to helping us search the woods for any sign of Hook".
"Yeah, sure. Why not" she shrugs at her love "Let me get dressed and I'll meet you out there" she tells the woman in front of her wanting her out of the room as she got ready.
Everything she had ever known and possessed including photo frames of her family were waiting for her in her old apartment she lived in for twenty-eight years instead of the home she shared with the former Queen. Like the Underworld knew she would be the first one to come down here, including all her clothes. All she was missing were the weapons that she hid in the bedroom closet.
"I can wait. The other's are at the Diner. I could help if you-" .
"I don't need your help" she quickly tells the dark brunette taking her by surprise. She saw the hurt flash in her partners's eyes at the way she snapped at her "I'm sorry".
"It's fine" she quickly tells her truelove accepting that they wouldn't just fall back into their lives before Camelot and Juno just yet, there was still so much to figure out where they both stood now that one half of the partnership was technically dead in the real world "I'll wait in the living room" at that the former Queen left her love to get ready for the hike in the woods to find the wayward pirate in the Underworld.
Hiking the woods had never made her feel so tired before as she felt every pull of her strained muscles in her thighs and calf's as they worked twice as hard as they did before to keep up with her partner. With Emma and Henry covering one part of the forest, she and Regina took another while Robin, Anastasia and Tom took a third direction to look for any sign of the one-handed pirate. But she had to hide every wince of pain she felt every time walked over fallen logs or up or down slight inclines.
Having Amelia back with them seemed to only drive the blonde savior onward to find her boyfriend as it gave her the hope that it was possible to find them in the Underworld. But the redheaded assassin had to bite her tongue to stop her from reminding them no one found her, she was taken away by Ophelia at Cora's request.
She wanted to find Hook just as much as the other's but once they got separated from the Land of Endless White there was no telling where he ended up. But she wanted to move on herself. She has regrets in her life she wished she could make right and she didn't think her former family would wait idle-by as she walked freely in the Underworld. She would have to do it on her own, she just wanted to move on from this place as fast as she could. Even if she had to step on a few toes to get it.
The former Queen hadn't gotten a single word from her love as they trekked the forest together, and her odd behavior earlier had only made her worry more about her mindset. Maybe if she talked about her daughter she would get something out of her except for silence.
"Helen" she suddenly told Amelia, snapping her out of whatever thoughts that had been stuck in her head.
"What?" the redhead replied in confusion.
"That's what's John named your daughter. After his mother apparently. What do you know about her?".
"Not a lot" she answered honestly "She and John came to the forest when he was still young. She died before we met, after he got the Godspeed".
"What about his father? Thomas" she presumed.
"Thomas?" she questioned the woman.
"You named Tom after your father's right? Thomas Romeo Smith".
"John's father's name wasn't' Thomas. Thomas was the name of his first Quartermaster, he died in Arendelle when Claudius came looking for me. He said he was more like a father to him than his actual father.".
"What was his name then?".
The redhead paused as she thought of the answer, she remembered asking him once when they were first thinking of name's for Tom but John quickly told her he wasn't going to name any son of his after his father. The redhead still had to think though.
"Paris" she answers the woman remembering the odd name as they heard Henry's voice in the distance seeing the doe making their way towards them only a few seconds later.
"Mom, we already covered this trail. It was cold" Henry tells his birth mother as hey come across them
"Then we cover it again, and we keep going until we find a trail that's hot" Emma told him and Robin, Anastasia and Tom joined them from their direction.
"You think there'd be more of those in the Underworld" Regina told the blonde as all three parties converged at the same spot in the Underworlds version of the forest "There's no sign of Hook in the North Woods".
"Or the East" Anastasia informed the other blonde in the party as she glanced towards her sister. Neither had said anything since being reunited. Anastasia wasn't even sure what or if her sister remembered during her possession on Juno in Storybrooke, if she did, she was purposely avoiding the conversation that hung over the pair or that she simply didn't want to talk about it.
Letting out a frustrated sigh left the saviors lips as her eye's grazed over the assassin they had found Day One of their trip to the Underworld "We have to keep going" she tells the group "Maybe out by the Troll Bridge" the savior went to lead the group to the bridge only to be stopped by the former Queen.
"Wait" Regina stopped the savior from moving.
"What?" the blonde savior asked her.
"There may be a way to make our search quicker".
"How?".
"In Storybrooke, I have schematics, maps, of the whole town. Every last inch of it" she tells her.
"So, you think the equivalent maps of this town are here?" Emma asked her.
"Everything else in Bizarro Storybrooke has an analog so far".
"Anya and I are on it" Robin tells them starting to walk away with the blonde assassin as Emma continues her search for anything that might lead them to Hook "You keep working here. We'll go get you your Intel" the thief tells the former Queen only for the redheaded assassin to catch his hand in her's to stop him
"Wait" Amelia calls out to him taking his hand "Take Henry and Tom with you" she asks her friend and sister taking the teenager's by surprise.
"It might be dangerous" Robin fretted to her that the venture might not be the best place for their son's to venture into.
"My mother's gone now" Regina spoke up for her partner "The office should be empty. And no one knows it better than Henry and.."
"We know Tom's been snooping around the office looking for the skeleton key's" Amelia finished off for her partner as they both look at their eldest son.
"How do you know that?" Tom looked between his mother's in surprise and horror at getting caught out.
"We didn't, you just told us" Regina told him before looking back to Robin "Tom will deal with any surprises along the way".
"They'll be fine" Amelia tells the thief "You'll be there to protect them".
Robin nodded at the pair before leaning forward to give Amelia a friendly kiss on her cheek as she mirrored him "All right, come on. Let's go" the thief encourages the boys as they walk away. Leaving the blonde assassin trailing behind them trying to catch her sister's eye only to meet a meek smile on her sister's face,
"Keep them safe for me" she tells her sister, not sure what else to say to her at that moment.
"Sempre" (Always) the blonde assassin replied with a nod before turning to follow Robin and the boys.
"What's up with that?" Regina asked her partner seeing the strain between the sister's. She'd never seen them like this.
"It's nothing" she gulped to her partner before turning to face her "I'll head into town to see if I can get anyone to talk about this place. You're going to need all the intel you can get your hands on. I'll meet you all at the diner".
"Are you sure?".
"I'm not exactly in prime condition to keep hiking anyway. I'll only slow you both down".
"Melia-" she started to argue only to get cut off.
"Don't pretend like it isn't true Queenie. Let me do this, its the least I can do if I can't physically help you and Emma find Killian" stepping away from the former Queen the redhead turned to start her trek back into town only to hear a scoffed laugh leave the former Queen's lips, making her stop to look back at the dark haired woman.
"What?".
"Nothing" Regina said shaking her head at the former Assassin with a smile "I never thought I'd see the day you would hear you call him by his real name".
"His debt to me was never about money. Its time I returned the favor" at that Amelia turned and started to walk away from the Queen in the direction "Love you" Regina heard the redhead call back making a quick smile flash on her face.
"Love you too" Regina sighed out in reply not even sure if the assassin heard her as her figure retreated further away from her.
"Regina, I found something!" the former Queen heard the savior call out to her taking her attention away from the assassin.
Killian had to wait for the time being as she needed to find a demi-god that he had a hand in sending down here.
Finding herself at the docks she watched from a distance a young man she had one met once fleetingly once before he was killed by a three-headed monster, easily lifting a heavy rowboat onto the concrete dock without much as breaking a sweat with one hand. He looked exactly the way his did all those years ago, he couldn't have been much older than her own son is now. Which only made the guilt weigh heavier in her heart than it did before.
Bracing herself the assassin shortened the distance between herself and the demi-god as she came to stop without him even taking notice of her. Taking in a shaky breath she gathered what courage she could to speak to the young man she had kill years ago. From even before she became the Black Widow.
"Hello Hercules" she finally spoke to the demi-god gaining his attention form his job.
Stopping what he was going he dropped the boat onto the ground with a thud as he recognized the last voice he ever heard from before Cerberus killed him and sent him down here.
Slowly he looked up and saw her the woman distracted him from Cerburses other two heads from killing him "You" he growled as he took angry steps toward her.
Lifting up her chin at the demi-god she waited for the beating that was about to come.
With renewed determination Mary Margaret lead Emma and Regina into Granny's Diner at the plan to find the one person who would be able to beat Cerberus and therefore allow Hook to be freed from the place he and girl Emma had found in the woods.
Upon entering the former Queen sought out her partner's figure in the restaurant only to not see her, despite the assassin telling her she would be.
"You really think she'll know where he is?" Emma asked Regina as they entered the building.
"Of course" Regina tells her as she closes the diner door behind her "We need someone who sees everyone" she said finding the Blind Witch behind the counter "Hey, child-muncher" she greets the witch with a sarcastic smile even Amelia would be proud of "We're looking for someone".
"Why should I help you, Regina? You and your little Widow burned me alive".
"It was Hansel and Gretel" Regina argued rolling her eyes at the woman.
"At your behest, and with your fireball and the Widow kicked me in" she retorted.
"Fine. Fine" the former Queen relented knowing she was right "But you stole my apple" she tells her "What do you think happens when you steal from a witch, witch?".
"Fair enough" the blind witch mused "So, who are you looking for? Your little Widow? Because she's not here".
"What do you mean?" confusion etched her face "She's not here?".
"News travels fast around this place. Especially if it's the demise of the famous Black Widow. If she came in here, I would know about it. There's a lot of people looking for five minutes alone with her. And not in the good way, you enjoy with her Regina" the blind witch seemed to wink at the Queen as Emma grimaced to herself at the suggestion.
"We're looking for someone else" Mary Margaret spoke up clearing her throat "His name's Hercules".
"You know, from the myths" Emma says to the witch.
The witch simply chuckled at the blonde "I know who Hercules is. He comes in here on his lunch break every day. And no matter how hard I try to fatten him up, his muscles are always bulging. It's a shame. He'd make a great Sunday roast. So would Amelia's son come to think of it" she trailed off in thought, he had strength underneath the baggy shirts and hoodies he wore.
"Watch it" Regina scolded the witch in warning.
"Lunch break from where?" Mary Margaret asked the Blind Witch.
As expected, her meeting with Hercules quickly went downhill as the demi-god had a hand wrapped around her throat with her head hanging over the edge of the doc as she felt a trickle of blood escape the open wound on her eyebrow where she was too slow to dodge a heavy object that was thrown her way.
She tried talking to him. She really did. But the more she heard her voice the angrier he seemed to get until she she found something hit her head really hard.
She had both her hands wrapped around his strong forearm as she tried to pull him off her neck only to be able to push the sleeves of his sweater up his arms. She should've thought this through more.
"Why aren't you fighting back?" he fumed at her from above.
"I'm sorry" she managed to gasp out as familiar voice saved the day from having her neck snapped by the angry demi-god.
"Herc! Stop!" Mary Margaret's voice came to the rescue as the redhead let out a deep gasp as Hercules let her go to face the former Princess.
Turning the face the pixie haired teacher, confusion etched him face as the assassin moved herself away from the edge.
Mary Margaret starts to slowly walk towards him, keeping a stray eye on the red head as she had manged to stand herself up from the ground "You don't recognize me, do you?".
Hercules stared hard at the woman in front of him before it finally came to him "Snow?" he scoffs lightly with a smile. Mary Margaret quickly closes the distance between them engulfing him in tight, happy to see the other after all this time.
'Of course they knew each-other' the redhead disdained to herself, that was just her luck.
Once the pair pull apart Mary Margaret see's how young he still was "You're still so young. When... How did...?".
"You mean, uh, how did I die?" he gulps as he eye's sought out the redhead, who was looking at him from behind his old friend gently shaking her head at him. Asking him not to tell Mary Margaret how he really died "That's, uh... That... That's not important. What are you doing down here? I mean, how did you...?".
"I'm not dead. Um, I came down here to help my daughter and my friend Amelia, do you two know each other" she curiously ask her old friend.
"We don't" Amelia spoke up from behind her making her whirl around "Just uh a misunderstanding. Right Hercules?" Hercules nodded along with the older woman before changing the subject.
"Right" he nodded along for the time being until he realized what his friend had said "Wait, you have a daughter?" the demi-god asked his friend.
"And a son" the Princess adds "And a grandson, actually".
"You are not a grandmother" he sighs in disbelief.
Mary Margaret chuckles nervously wiping the tears that felt her eyes "Actually... it's kind of a convoluted story, but, um, I am. It's been quite a life".
"Yeah. Yeah, I wish I could say the same" Hercules sadly tells her.
"I'm so sorry" she tells him "What if I told you there might be a way for you to leave the Underworld once and for all?".
"I never finished my Labors" Hercules tells her "I can't move on until I do".
"I know. And Cerberus is here".
"Here?" both Amelia and Hercules asked the Princess taking the Princess by surprise that her friend should know what Cerberus is, quickly looking back to see her friend's face drop.
"He's... He's guarding a prison where the man my daughter loves is being held" the former Princess tells them.
"And..." Hercules trailed off.
"Hercules, you're the only one strong enough to defeat that beast. It's your destiny".
"Well, that hero died" he tells her in defeat as he turned to continue on with his job.
"Only if you let him. Don't forget what you taught me. You can't let fear of failure keep you from trying".
Across town, Henry and Tom lead Robin and Anastasia through town hall to the mayor's office, where they would find the maps's their mother was talking about in the woods. The one that would show every inch of the Underworld. Giving them the advantage to find Hook. The elder of the pair of teen goes to let himself in only for the adult male with them to stop him.
"Wait" Robin stops the boy's as he goes to open the door himself, as a shimmer of magic appeared across the door, stopping any trespassers that might want to get inside.
"Protection spell" Anastasia stated out load as she and Robin tried to find another way into the office.
"Looks like Grandma Cora left this place locked up" Henry observed for the small group.
"Not completely" Tom says' as he goes to the sofa pulling it out of it's place to reveal an air vent, flicking his right wrist out making his hidden blade jump out of its gauntlets he uses the edge of the blade to gently pry the guard off before putting it aside.
"Good find lad" he praises Tom with a firm squeeze of his shoulder, encouraging the teen out of the way before he takes his quiver off his back "All right. You two stay here" the archer tells the teen's as he and Anastasia prepare to crawl into the vent themselves.
"No" Henry tells the thief "Someone needs to stand guard outside, we're the only one's that know's where to look in out Mom's office" he tells the pair of adults with them with Tom nodding along.
Robin Hood pauses in hesitation as he thinks over the pair's plan before looking to Anastasia. Tom was more than ready to protect Henry and would be just as head strong as his mother to get him to change his mind. The blonde assassin simply shrugged at the thief giving him the final say in the decision to let the pair go without them.
Finally relenting he points at them with a firm face "Be very careful" he tells Henry before pointing at Tom "Be very, very careful".
The pair only smiled at their small victory before Henry and Tom crawled into the vent one after the other, leaving the thief with a very quiet assassin behind.
"Anya? Everything alright?" the thief asked the assassin who hadn't said much to them on the way there. Shaking her head no, the assassin wasn't sure how best to approach the subject that has played on her mind since having her sister back.
"If it's bothering you this much, isn't it better to tell a friend" Robin tells the blonde hoping whatever friendship they held would be enough for the blonde to tell him what had been on her mind.
"I sort of did something stupid the other night when we all thought our lives were going to be traded off for the Dark Ones" she started.
"What did you do?" he asked her with furrowed brows.
"John Smith" she quickly said taking the thief by surprise at the admission.
"Oh" he simply said to the blonde assassin, awkwardly clearing his throat "So uh, whats the problem?".
"Juno sort of caught us coming out of the bedroom and now..".
"You're not sure if your sister remembers Juno's possession" the thief said for the assassin.
"You've seen how weird she's been. She can barely look at me".
He had noticed. It wasn't difficult to see the space she had put between her and her sister ever since she had been returned to them.
"Anya, she's your sister. You are one of the most important people in her life. She was devastated for what happened to Dimitri. All she cared about was getting to you because she thought you were in trouble. So whatever it is you need to tell her, tell her. I'm sure she will understand for following your heart, because I know she's done the same".
Once the teens had reached the other side of the vent, Henry was the one to push the guard away as he and Tom climbed out and back onto their feet in front of the roaring fireplace, only to be greeted by someone they had last seen in Storybrooke before Emma killed her.
"Hello, darlings" Cruella De Vil greets the boy's standing across from them with her cigarette in hand as she see's the pair that lead to her
"Cruella" Henry states as Tom places a protective hand in front of the younger teen with a clenched first to his side ready to face the villain.
"Tell me, how are your mothers?" she asks the boys, only to correct herself "Oh, yes, with you two, I need to be more specific. How is the one that killed me?".
With the plan in mind, the redheaded assassin couldn't help but feel a little apprehensive at going to the place were Cerberus was and in such a confined space. The stories her mother had left her did not do the three-headed monster any justice as she had only watched from the high tree tops as the hound ripped through Hercules and a girl that had gotten caught up in her contract.
But the guard dog was the only thing between them and Hook. She had no choice.
"This is the tunnel she said she came out of" Emma told the demi-god behind her "Hook's in here somewhere".
"All right wonder boy. Are you sure you can do this?" Regina asks Hercules only to met by nervous silence.
"Regina" Mary Margaret lightly scolded the older woman before she places her hand on Hercules's shoulder in a support" I know you can do this".
"We'll find your friend. Don't worry" he tells them as Amelia moved aside catching his gaze as he walks past her with a sword in his hand "Wait for me here" he tells the women as he begins walking into the tunnel. Leaving the trio of women behind as he faced his unfinished business to help his friend get her daughter's love back.
The assassin could've help the nerves she felt as she watched the young demi-god walk further away from them as her finger's twitched nervously to themselves. But he was too nervous, she felt it coming off him in waves.
"Screw it" the assassin suddenly swore out load knowing she couldn't leave him to face the monster alone "I'm already dead" she adds reaching into Regina's coat pocket to find the silver dagger she gave to the Queen on her birthday before the first curse.
"Lia, what are you doing!?" Mary Margaret questioned the woman as she watched the redhead run down the tunnel.
"I'm not letting him die again!" the woman called back before disappearing down the same way Hercules had just gone.
"What the hell did she mean by that?" Emma gasped to the other's as they looked to each other in mix of surprise and shock.
Easily catching up to the demi-god she slowed down her pursuit to a cautious walk the the dagger in hand as Hercules heard her heeled-boot's crunch the gavel beneath her feet. Whirling around he thought it was Snow that had followed him down only to see the redhead that had sent him down here in the first place.
"What are you doing?" Hercules hissed behind him as she caught up with him "Are you mad?.
"I must be if I'm here with you" she replied in a harsh whisper "But never mind my mental state, Hercter. We've got a dog to put down" without a reply the demi-god and assassin continued their slow journey towards the beast.
After a few more step's they came to a stop as they heard low dangerous growl on the wind making their hair move. Fear etched Hercules's face as Amelia stood her ground bending at her knees as they saw a pair of red glowing eyes at the end of the dark tunnel.
Sensing the young man's fear she tried to calm him down "Easy" she tells him as a second pair of red eye's appear the silhouettes of their snarling muzzles came out of the darkness to face them. The growls turn into snarls as a third set appear. Hearing Hercules sword clatter to the ground as her eye's close in defeat as his feet hit the floor behind her, quickly making his retreat from the hell-hound.
"Hello Amelia" she remembered his voice like it was yesterday he showed up in the cabin of the Godspeed all those years ago making her eye's snap open to man she had only met once before "It's good to see you again".
Back down the tunnel Regina, Emma and Mary Margaret hear a pair of feet running back towards them to see Hercules running back towards them in fear for whatever was down there to scare him so much.
"Herc!" Mary Margaret call after her friend as she steps forward with her bow and arrow allowing him to run past her stopping behind the three women, the snarling continued as they waited for Amelia to come back.
After a beat, a sense of panic grow's in the former Queen's heart with no sign of her truelove re-joining them like Hercules had.
"Where's Melia?" Regina asks the demi-god behind her who didn't answer her "Where is she!?" she yelled at him, thinking the young demi-god had just left to face Cerberus herself. Opening his mouth to answer her the group hear something down the other end of the tunnel to see the redhead herself rolling backwards into view as she landed into a crouch with the dagger in hand ready to face whatever was down there again.
"Lia!" Emma yells after the redhead, catching her attention as she stand back up to run back to the group. Catching the assassin in her arms, the former Queen sees that the assassin didn't come out of the tunnel unscathed as a trail of fresh blood trialed down from her hairline as she turned herself in the Queen's arms to look back with panic filled eye's, only to hear someone whistling making the growling instantly stop.
"What the hell was that?" Regina asked her partner only for the source of the whistling to be reveal as Hades the God of the Underworld stepped around the corner.
"I called them off" the God of the Underworld told them as Amelia peeled herself out of Regina's hands as she stepped ahead of her family and Hercules as the former Queen kept one of her hands clasped tightly in her's, ready to drag her back if need be.
"Who are you?" Emma asked the man as he stood before them.
"My uncle" Hercules answered the blonde.
"Hades?" Regina states in wonder.
"Don't look so surprised" Hades drawled out as he stopped in front of them looking at the former Queen "Who'd you think was in charge of this place, your mommy?".
"Well, if this is your realm, maybe you can answer a few questions. Like why does this hell-hole look like Storybrooke?" she questioned the god in front of them.
"I have my reasons, and I don't have to share them with you" he tells her.
"Leave them alone, Uncle" his nephew spoke up stepping to stand with the redhead, making his Uncle look at him.
"There's that famous courage people love to talk about. Oh, Hercules, did you really think you could face Cerberus. Again?" he asked his nephew.
"Again?" Mary Margaret voiced from behind them.
"You mean he didn't tell you?" he mocked gasped at the Princess.
"Cerberus killed you" the former Princess stated in shock.
"Try again" Hade's said/sang at them "Your warm but not warm enough" he said as he pointed to Amelia who kept staring straight at the God gripping the dagger in her hand as Mary Margaret looked at her in mix of confusion and shock as Regina and Emma looked at the Assassin in shock.
"Amelia?" Mary Margaret called out to her childhood hero "What he talking about?".
"Snow-" she tried to tell her only for the God to be quicker.
"It was a while ago when I asked her" Hades supplied in front of them "But she was more than happy to distract my nephew for long enough for my pet to kill him and for a very reasonable price. Worth the small fortune I might had " the god chuckled to himself that he had put the redhead between a rock and a hard place.
"Is that true?" Mary Margaret send the question towards her childhood hero. Closing her eye's as she heard the heartbreak and disappointment that laced her voice.
"Yeah" Hercules answered for the Assassin turning to his friend "I didn't want you to know. Snow, I couldn't let you down".
"Well, it's nothing to be ashamed of, nephew" Hades chimed in "After all, losing your life to my little pet is what finally brought us together as family".
"We're not afraid of you" Mary Margaret stood up to the god.
"Oh, Snow White" Hade's gasped again "Or is it Mary Margaret? My nephew said you were a spitfire, but trust me, you should be quite afraid of me because the next time you interfere with my family, I will come after yours".
"Bring it" Emma interrupts the conversation taking a step towards the god "We're not gonna rest until we find Hook"
"Oh, and that must make you Emma" he chuckles at the blonde "Since your pirate likes to send you messages, I told him I would deliver this one personally" he says as he holds up Killian's bloody hook.
Worry etched Emma face when she sees all the blood "What did you do to him?".
"It's not what I've already done you should worry about now. It's what I'm about to do" he tells them before he drops the hook, before disappearing in blue fire.
In the mayors office the teen's stood frozen, not out of magic, but out of slight fear of the woman in front of them. Cruella De Vil. Clenching his left fist while the other stayed on his brothers chest protectively keeping him behind him.
"So, darlings, this is actually quite fortuitous" the older woman started looking straight at them.
"What do you want?" Henry asked the woman that had triggered Emma decent into the darkness from pushing her off the edge of the cliff.
"Why, you two, of course. I need your help" she answered them as she started walking toward them "You see, Hades, the being that runs this place, has set up the most awful conundrum. For those of us in this ghastly Underworld, we have two choices... Leaving for a better place or a worse one".
"I think I know where you'll end up" Tom said in a low voice as he left his left clenched fist as a hidden blade jumped out of his gauntlet making the woman take a step back away as the tip of the sharp balde nearly made contact with the underside of her chin.
"Charming" Cruella sighed sightly impressed with the young teens gall to threaten her "Just like your mother" she drawled before stepping around the slightly older teen to the fireplace as she hears the blade jump back into place as the boys turn to see her admiring a white marble statue of a dog "And also probably quite correct, which is why I need a third choice. To go back to the real world. Oh, how I miss it. The music, the gin, the glamour... the gin" she listed.
"You're already dead" Henry stated the obvious to the woman "No one can change that".
"Actually, one person can. The Author" she says looking at Henry "Oh, yes, that's you now".
"No. The Apprentice told me it's impossible" Henry tells her.
"Because he didn't want you to. But, Henry, you can" Cruella tells him "The Author's power is far greater than that bearded old man wanted you to believe".
"I destroyed the quill" Henry argued.
"Oh, yes, yes, I know what you did. We hear it all down here. But I'm guessing you don't know much about the quill, do you?" she queried with the younger teen as she walked past them again with them following her every move "The sorcerer bequeathed the quill to all of you, but it is not a simple pen. It is a magical energy. It is a living, breathing entity" she explained to the pair.
"It's alive?" Tom questioned the woman.
"Oh, yes" she said leaning forward before she started to walk toward the pair "And when you broke it, Henry, you sent it right down here to the Underworld, its purpose unfulfilled. It epitomized unfinished business. And now you are going to find it down here with my help. And you're going to send me right back to our world".
"Why would he ever help you?" Tom spoke for his brother.
"Mm, because, if I come back to life, guess what happens? The woman who killed me, your mother, is no longer a murderer. You see? You see, by helping me, Henry, you can restore Mommie dearest to the pure soul she once was. And You can save her. And if you really wanted to you could bring back your other Mommie for the trouble".
Retreating to the loft, the redheaded assassin didn't get a chance to speak to the former Princess as she ran upstairs away from the woman she had looked up to for the better half of her life only to discover that she would let an innocent person be killed for money.
Remaining downstairs with Emma and the former Queen, the dark brunette tended to the small but in the redhead's hairline she had gained from her small skirmish with the God of the Underworld.
Neither Emma nor Regina knew what do for their respective mother and soulmate as the discovery of Amelia's actions had left a gaping whole between her and the former Princess. They had only reconciled over the letter.
But this was something else. Amelia was Snow's hero. Her first heroine after she saved her from the mercenaries that had been sent to kill her and her step-mother, and the plot to harm her father. The young Princess would often ask herself what Amelia would do in the situation that had cropped up that she would have to deal with in her father stead.
And the redhead often relied on the younger woman's belief in her. More often than not it was the Princess's words that drove her to get what was needed. If that lost to her now. That would be devastating for both of them.
Keeping her space from the assassin, the blonde savior sat on the couch with the girl they had rescued from the woods and David pottering around in the kitchen as the redhead hissed in pain from cut her partner dabbed once again, before she was swatted away from her head and face as she sat on a stool, earning pointed glare from the former Queen at her protests.
"Are you going to stay silent or are you going to explain what the happened back there?" Regina started throwing the piece of tissue onto the breakfast bar in frustration putting a hand on her hip glaring at the redhead.
"Which part? When Wonder boy ran away, or when Hades handed me my ass" Amelia huffed at the woman as she stood from the stool to pace the open floor as the other's watched on
"How about your history with Hercules?" the former Queen answered "Is that why you lied to me about going to the diner".
"You don't understand" the redhead shook her head at her partner.
"Then tell us what happened?" Emma spoke up from her seat "Maybe my Mom would".
"No" Amelia shook her head at the blonde "It was stupid, impulsive, I was desperate" she sighed the last word , remembering the circumstance's around her taking Hades contract to make sure his nephew failed his last labor "I just wanted to make things right and it still didn't work" Amelia said through un-shed tears that had gathered in her eye's.
"Make what right?" David spoke up from his place as he tried to understand what the assassin did to make his wife so upset.
"Never-mind" Amelia dismissed the woman's question before she looked up the stair's knowing she would have to try and talk Snow out of completely hating her "Excuse me" she muttered to the pair as she pushed herself up the stairs to confront the woman, she had hurt herself.
The Assassin slowed her steps as she found Mary Margaret crossed legged on the bed upstairs, her heart was in her throat as saw the young woman she had watched grow into the person she was today barely look at her.
"Mary-Margaret" Amelia gently called out to the woman sat in front of her.
The younger woman scoffed a laugh in disbelief shaking her head at the woman stood in front of her "All this time you've insisted you call me Snow and it's now you start calling me that".
"What do you want me to say? That I regret what I did? Because I do. I went to find him to apologize and try and make things right-".
"How can you say that after everything we've done together. You made the easy choice" she accused the woman in front of her.
"You don't understand".
"Then tell me Amelia. Help me understand why you would let in innocent boy be killed".
Taking a beat for herself she would have to re-open a chapter of her story she would rather keep shut forever, but she would have to say something. She owed the former Princess just that.
Taking a seat on the edge of bed with her back to her closets friend she started her story "About a year after Tom was born. Things between John and I weren't great" she started "The Godspeed was falling apart from a month of rough storms and trade was slowing down because of a few wars that had broken out on the mainland. And I had just found out I was pregnant again".
Mary Margaret's curiosity raised at the mention of the story. She remembered John telling her David and Elsa about the child they lost before he was 'killed', and Tom was taken from the redhead.
"Whatever money we were scraping together was going towards repairing the ship, things were getting better. But then I lost it" the younger woman heard the grief still in her voice even after all these years as she admitted to the miscarriage out-load.
"John had to use the money we saved on a healer that wouldn't come aboard willingly" she gulped "I would've died if he hadn't given him everything we had. After that, things got worse between us, I knew he was upset but he wouldn't tell me, so when Hades showed up with the contract, I couldn't turn that kind of money away".
"You killed Hercules for money"
"I never killed him. Technically" Amelia quickly defended herself as she stood up from the bed and whirled around to face the Princess with fresh tears running down her face "I distracted him long enough for Cerberus to kill him and some other girl that got in the way. I never touched him".
"And that makes it any better?" she questions the redhead.
"It's what I had to tell myself when I got back to my son and husband. I did it for them. Something I think you can understand more than anyone here Snow White, might I remind you of Cora" she argued to the younger woman, reminded her of when she made the easy choice when her family came under threat.
"What I did to Cora has nothing to do with this Amelia. You stopped Hercules from completing his labors. He was innocent. You did that, how the hell can I ever look at you that same way again".
"So what?" the redheads voice finally cracked under the emotion of losing her friend "You're giving up on me now? After everything we've been though? After I sacrificed everything to save your daughter again" the princess seemed to wince at the price she had to pay for her daughters actions in Camelot "You're really going to let one stupid mistake I made years ago, suddenly make you lose all hope you had for me?".
Her silence was deafening. Her ear's rung out as she willed for the Princess to say anything. Even if it to say would never forgive her. Yet nothing came. A choke emitted from the redhead's throat as Mary Margaret possibly heard the moment her friend's heart broke.
Taking Mary Margaret's silence as her answer as she turned and left the Princess to her own thoughts as she was met by Emma and Regina. If her heart could break again, it just did as took the last step off the metal stairs announcing her return the pair awaiting her. By the look on her face things hadn't
"Lia" the blonde called out to the redhead as she and Regina saw the cogs turn in her head to what she was going to do next.
"Not now Swan" the red head warned her as she headed for the door. Rushing forward, the blonde blocked her path as she tried to make one last ditch attempt to make this right. But the blonde quickly put herself in the way of the redheads path in case she about to do something stupid like hand herself back to her former family.
"Hey stop, let talk about this" she tried to reason with the woman only to be roughly pushed against the very same door she was trying to stop the assassin from using by a tight hand wrapped around her neck. Emma's eye's bugged out in fear under the woman's strong grip as she felt her throat constrict a dark look washing over the redheads face, her rage filled eye's meeting her's as she stared at the blonde that had literally put her through hell.
"Hey!" David yelled in protest from the kitchen seeing the assassin with her hand around his daughter's neck, he stepped to round the counter only to be stopped by Regina who grabbed his arm to keep him away from the angry assassin. Whatever happened upstairs's his heavy hand would only make things worse.
"Stay. Away. From. Me" Amelia growled at her lowly "Every time you try and help me. You always make it worse, so just stop" she tells the blonde woman straight as all the anger she felt towards the woman bubble to the surface for getting in her way of making things right with the one person in the apartment that didn't believe in her anymore.
"Amelia! Let her go!" Regina's stern voice brought the Assassin back off the edge as she let the blonde go. Emma gasped for air stepping away from the angry Assassin as the latter let herself out of the loft.
It was Regina's turn to try and talk to Mary Margaret after her soulmate stormed out of the loft after trying to kill Emma for trying to stop her from leaving. Seeing the woman like that reminded her of the 'good old day's',even if she could call them that, when the Black Widow would threaten her victims. She was only glad she had been able to be the voice of reason to stop her from choking the life out of their friend.
The only thing that had surprised her since finding her was her unforgiving demeanor towards the savior. Sure, she would be mad. But this was so unlike Amelia. She was the one to tell Emma to use Excalibur against Juno, she was only doing as she was told after not listening the first time.
"What are you doing?" the former Queen sighed seeing Mary Margaret crossed legged on the bed "We have to find Hook. And Melia again, by the way. Whatever you said to her sent her on a homicidal rage towards your daughter".
"I can't help you" Mary Margaret told her shaking her head at the older woman "or Amelia, not anymore".
"We can't have you quitting".
"I'm not quitting. I'm being practical" Mary Margaret argued.
"Since when are you practical?".
"This is all my fault" her friend argued with her "I thought I was doing the right thing. Hercules was destined to kill Cerberus. I thought it would help us get to Hook. But now...".
"Now is not the time to give up" Regina tells her "Need I remind you I dedicated years to knocking you down? But nothing could stop you".
"You took my kingdom" the former Princess reminded her "Cast your curse. I lost my daughter for 28 years".
"And then you found her" Regina retorted "You defeated me in a way no one thought was possible. You made me your friend by never giving up on me. So, what's the difference this time?".
"And how am I supposed to help anyone stand up to Hades when all I have is... speeches about hope?".
"You're right. Mary Margaret can't help. In fact, we don't need her anymore. We need Snow White".
Finding both Hercules and Amelia at the docks in a heated discussion while he worked easily lifting item's not normal humans could ever lift. The argument continued as Amelia desperate to get the young demi-god to understand why she did it, but with her help they could kill Cerberus together , but the demi-god wasn't willing to so eagerly go after something she helped get him killed by.
The pair were taken out of their heated argument when they heard a clattering of metal hit the ground to make them both look up to see his short sword on the ground with Mary Margaret standing over it.
"Pick it up" the Princess tell the young man.
"Like I was telling her" he spat towards Amelia as he picked up two anchors "It's pointless, Snow" he huffs as he walks over to a boat and puts down two anchors he was carrying "I can't defeat Cerberus. We're just going to antagonize my uncle" he tells her.
"Well, that's a chance we're going to have to take. Herc, how did Cerberus kill you?".
"Why does it matter?" he huffed as he continued to work around the Princess and the Assassin.
"Because... Because that is the only way we're gonna figure out how to defeat him next time".
"He has three heads, Snow" he sighed "Okay, when I would face one, no matter how valiantly I fought, the other two would attack. It was never about Amelia distracting me at the right moment. I never should have fought that beast alone" he admitted to the Princess.
"Well, that's it. That's why you're going to win this time. You're not going to fight him alone".
"You want to face Cerberus with me?".
"Herc, I became that hero you always believed I could be" Mary Margaret tells him before looked toward her friend as she continued "And Amelia became a hero because I believed that she could be better than the person she became. And we are all going to fight that three-headed beast, and we are going to win".
It was dark by the time they were making their way back to main street. With his short sword in Hercules' hand. Mary Margaret with her bow and arrow and Amelia with the silver dagger she had retrieved from Regina's coat pocket they three made their way back into town to find Cerburus but as they came Main Street. they saw three familiar figures of Emma, David and Regina running towards them.
"Snow" Amelia's tone caught the Princesses' ear.
"I see them, come on" Mary Margaret urged them on as they ran forward, both groups coming to a stop as they met in the middle.
"Are you okay? What happened?" Mary Margaret asked her family.
"Cerberus. He found us" David quickly summarized for the three.
"Where's the prisoner?" she asked them seeing they were one person short.
"She ran when the hell-hound attacked" Emma told her mother "We gave her a head start, but there was only so long we could hold it off".
"We should split up" Amelia suggested to the Princess who nodded along with her plan "We have to find her before that monster does".
"Go" David urged the three as he Emma and Regina run off in one direction, whilst Mary Margaret, Amelia and Hercules make their way towards the clock tower.
As they neared the fallen clock tower Amelia was the first to see the girl from that night that had been there hiding behind the clock tower. Holding out her hand towards the demi-god they slowed down as Mary Margaret readied her bow as they rounded the clock tower to see the girl crouched behind the piece of building in fear of the beast that was roaming the town.
"You shouldn't be here" she tells the three as they come onto view.
"We're here to help" Mary Margaret tells them as the growling gets louder and suddenly Meg's eyes widen and she points to Cerberus, who is now in full view.
"He found us" the girl trembled pointing at something behind them. Whirling around they saw Cerberus with his three head and red eye's jumps out at them.
"What now?" Hercules asks them.
Amelia spot's the library door's "Get in the library" she tells the Princess and demigod "I'll give you some time".
"Wait" the demi-god tried to stop her only for her to ignore him as she steps towards the beast with only the silver dagger in her hand.
"Go!" she tells the Princess and demi-god not taking her eye's off the beast for a second. Knowing it was no use to argue with the assassin, Mary Margaret encourages her friend back as her childhood hero stands her ground against the three-headed dog. Helping the prisoner onto her feet, the demi-god encourages the towards the building giving the redhead one last glance as he follows them.
Once inside the former bandit went to widow to peek outside to see Amelia trying her best to keep away from the three sets of bone crushing jaws that snapped at her hands and feet each time she got a little too close as she rolled across the ground to dodge his attacks that seemed to strain the woman each time, before finally giving up to hide behind the fallen clock tower.
As Cerberus came into view in search for the redhead the pixie haired princess darted back against the wall to avoid the beast seeing her as Hercules joins her quickly moving across the window.
"Any bright ideas?" the demigod asks the Princess.
The former Princes couldn't help but think of what Amelia would do in this situation. She always did and possibly always will. Because other than her father. Amelia was her first heroine. Sure she had her flaws and now she knew why she became the Black Widow, but she was always just Amelia to her. The girl who put her life on the line to save her. That's who she believed in, and it was Amelia who sacrificed herself to stop Juno from causing any further harm to those she loved. The woman who would always run into the fire for her and continued to do so even after she died.
"We hit all three heads at once" Mary Margaret tells him as one of the windows shatters with a solid figure falling in with the glass. The Princess saw a glimpse of the thick red hair as she realized that Cerberus had sent Amelia through the window.
"Lia!" Mary Margaret called out to her friend as her body slumped onto the floor with her eye's closed and her dagger on the floor away from her as shards of shattered glass covered her unconscious form.
"How are we gonna do that?" Hercules asked his old friend seeing they were one person down from their original plan.
"With her help" the Princess says looks towards the girl that had escaped Hades prison thanks to Hook "Give her your dagger".
Holding out his dagger out to the girl instantly at his friends suggestion only for the girl to quickly refuse it. "No, no, I can't do that" she hastily tells the pair.
"Yes, you can" Mary Margaret tells her as the doors to the library loudly thudded under the weight of the hell-hound hitting them, having found where they were hiding. the trio step away from the door in unison.
"You can. You have to try" Mary Margaret tells the girl again.
Taking the dagger from Hercules, the girl and Mary Margaret take their places in front of the door as the demi-god runs further into the library to search for another weapon. He ends up snapping a pipe off an air vent before quickly returning to the door.
"Ready?" Mary Margaret asks the pair either side of her as she aimed her bow and arrow at the door.
The seconds dragged before the door's of the library burst open, splintering the wood as the three headed hell-hound jumped into the doorway to find his next meals.
"Now!" Mary Margaret yells as she lets her arrow loose hitting the hell-hound middle head as the girl and Hercules stab the left and right with their weapons, putting all the strength they head to defeat the beast once and for all.
After a moments, Cerberus poofs out of existence in a cloud of black smoke as the girl start to chuckle to herself seeing that they had won only for the demi-god to quickly see the girl's starting to faint.
"Whoa. Hey, hey. Hey" he says catching her in his arms, before she regains her footing.
"I guess I'm not used to all that excitement" the girl breathes out in elation of defeating the beast she had been so scared of before she turns to meet the demi-gods gaze.
"I'm Hercules" the demi-god introduced himself to her.
"Megara" she replied "But my friends call me Meg".
"Thanks for the assist, Meg" he tells her unaware that the fallen assassin had woken up from being thrown through the window.
"Can I get a little help here?" they heard Amelia groan from the floor still covered in glass.
Letting out a relieved chuckle the Princess goes over to help her friend stand back up as glass fell off her clothes onto the floor. With an arm threaded through the younger woman's, the redhead finds her feet as she saw Hercules and the girl staring at each other as she saw a dagger and piece of pipe on the floor in front of the open doorway.
"What the hell did I miss?".
Left picking out bits of glass out of her hair and clothes, the assassin sat at the counter of the Underworlds version of Granny's with the adults as the Hercules sat with the girl who's name she found out Meg at a table, recovering from the figth she had missed out on against Cerberus.
as she sat at the counter of the Underworlds version of Granny's with Emma, Mary Margaret, David and Regina, while the girls he had lean who's name was Meg and Hercules sat at one of the tables, recovering from their fight with Cerberus, keeping to herself as she overheard the young couple's conversation.
"I... I think we've met before" the demi-god told Meg opposite him.
They had. She remembered seeing the girl that had been killed after she distracted the demigod as he hunted Cerberus down.
Her lilac set of robes that she had kept in a wooden chest in their cabin felt heavier somehow as she stood in the treetops to where her target would be. Hercules. The man that gifted her the contract and the fat pouch of coin that would fix the ship with money left over was Hades. The God of the Underworld. Her mothers stories suddenly came to life as she looked upon the demi-god she had read so tales about in the flesh, he didn't look much older than the Princess she had saved two years ago.
Her thoughts of the demi-god were interrupted when she heard a woman ith long brown hair and a purple dress calling out for help as she ran towards the demi-god.
"Help!Please! Please!" Meg plead to Hercules panting heavily from running away from the beast that roamed these woods.
"Hey, what is it?" the young man asked the scared girl in his arms.
"It's..A monster!".
She might as well have been calling her the monster that stood waiting to make her move to make sure the demi-god died that night
"You're... you're the boy that tried to save me" Meg replied recognizing him.
"Tried?" he grunts out.
"I'm afraid Cerberus got me... right after he got you" Meg informed him.
"Run. Run" Hercules orders the girl.
"No, he'll kill you".
"I don't care. Now,go!" Meg runs and Cerberus appears in front of Hercules, who charges at the hell-hound with his spire.
She didn't need to replay the whole thing again. She knew what happened next. As the demi-god was fighting the beast she let out a loud whistle that made the young man look away for a split second to look straight at her, to see the red-hair and her face. A second was all Cerberus needed to tear him apart.
"I'm so sorry, Meg, I..." he tried to apologize placing his hand on the table between them.
"What for? You may not have saved me back then, but you made up for it now" she reaches across the table taking his hand into hers "Thank you".
"Looks like Herc found a new friend" David voiced to the others as he watches the pair grow closer by the second. They all looked with the exception of the redhead who kept herself looking straight forward. She couldn't look at something that should've happened while they were both alive.
"Mm" Mary Margaret hummed "Maybe defeating Cerberus wasn't Hercules' only piece of unfinished business. Maybe he needed to save her, too".
"You okay?" Emma asked her mother.
"Yeah" the Princess sighs "You didn't know me in the Enchanted Forest, Emma, but... I was someone who took risks even when she was afraid. I was someone who... I guess, inspired people. An old enemy reminded me of that. I just don't want to ever run the risk of forgetting who I was again".
"What are you saying, Mary Margaret?" David spoke up form next to his wife.
"I'm saying I don't want to be Mary Margaret anymore" The Princess looked towards the one person who always believed in her, the woman that kept coming back to her whatever the situation the redhead looked back at her with a half- smile "I want to be Snow White again"
"It's about damn time" Amelia drawled in agreement to the former Princess as she looked to the person she had the privilege to watch grow into the woman she was today "I never liked the name Mary Margaret anyway" she added making the small group of hero's and former villains chuckle in agreement as she gave the former bandit a wink of her eye paired with a smirk.
"I think we can make that happen. Snow" David added with a smile.
In the town hall, Robin and Anastasia were still waiting for either Tom or Henry to return from the Mayor's office with the plan of the town to find Hook with. The pair were starting to get nervous at how long they were both taking as the thief crouched down to the vent to see any sign of their return.
"Henry. Tom" he called into the vent "Are you all right?".
"Yeah" it was Henry who answered his call as he climbed out of the vent with Tom not far behind the younger teenager as Robin took a step back as he helped the pair back on their feet.
"Did you find anything?" the thief asked the pair.
"No. Nothing. Dead end" Tom told the man.
"Okay" Robin accepted the answer "Come on, we've got to return you to your mother's" at that thief and blonde assassin lead the pair out as they thought over Cruella's plan to use Henry's powers of the The Author to save their family.
She felt the heat coming from the flames as soon as she stepped into the cavern with the other's to see Hercules and Meg over the other side to move on from the Underworld.
It made her nervous being so close to where she could finally move on, only to know she was nowhere near to doing so. There was still so much to do, she thought she'd never be in this position.
As if she felt her partner's nervousness herself the former Queen gently gasped the assassin's hand into hers, giving her Queen's hand a squeeze in a silent thank you.
"Do you think you can get to the prison through the tunnels?" Meg asked the blonde savior as she stood with her parents to see the young blossoming couple off.
"Yes, thanks to your map" the blonde told her.
"If it weren't for Hook, I'd still be rotting in that cell. You'll tell him that I did the right thing? That he was right to trust me?".
"I will. Thank you" Emma promises her before Hercules looked towards his old friend.
"Are you sure you don't want us to stay and help?" he asked Snow.
"I think you've been down here long enough" Snow tells him as she steps forward to speak to him "And if you don't cross before your uncle finds you, who knows what he'll do".
"I was right. You became an amazing hero" Hercules tells her before the pair embraced in a tight hug before pulling away to look at the last person he saw before he died.
"Amelia" he started taking a step towards the former Assassin who looked up to meet his gaze "What happened wasn't your fault, I know that now" he said quickly glanced over to the Princess who was watching the exchange before looking back at the redhead "If Snow can see you as a hero, then I can forgive you".
At this the redhead let out a shuddering breath of relief as she felt a wight lifting off her shoulders for the sift time since coming to the Underworld, she should feel better for it but somehow it only made her worse as he continued "I shouldn't blame you for the actions of my Uncle, I should've have faced Cerberus alone I just thought- ".
"You were being a hero" Amelia croaked out to the demi-god who gave the redhead a small smile "It still doesn't excuse what I did, even if it was to help my family at the time".
"Maybe not, but I can see why Snow wants you back so much" he tells her with a sad smile "Because you were her hero first" he tells her.
"Thank you" she breathed out as the tears fell from her eye's as her love wrapped her arms around her holding her close knowing how much the words would mean to the redhead at that moment. She couldn't help but feel proud of her love in that moment as she rested her forehead on the assassin's crown.
Turning back to Meg the demi-god offered his hand to the girl he had tried to save before they started their journey to cross the bridge as a bright light appears on the other side of the walkway as the pair see something materialize in the distance
"What is it?" Meg asks Hercules as she see's a white palace appear in the clouds.
"Olympus" he tells her before pulling her further towards his home.
Not long after Hercules and Meg had moved on, the redheaded assassin had manged to slip away from the family as she tried to figure out her next move. Her feet naturally took her to the docks needing the salty air to clear her mind only to find something she thought she would never see again on water.
She couldn't help but marvel at the image in front of her. The Jackdaw stood tall and proud in the Underworld docks. It's huge white main sail hung from its mast as it gently rocked on the waves that lapped on it's belly, no tree's overshadowed the crows nest that sat at the top of the main mast. No holes in the side that would let in water. No moss had ever touched the pristine wood of the deck. All is broadside cannon's were accounted for. She still remembered the shake of the ship underneath her feet as each wave of cannons were fired in unison.
The image of the Jackdaw made the feeling of ease settle into her head knowing she wasn't to blame for Hercules and Meg's demise, she'd been forgiven. But she had a while to go still.
Today was Day Zero.
Hearing a pair of heeled boots behind her the assassin continued to watch the brig she had been practicably raised on as Regina found her after she disappeared from the cavern after seeing Hercules and Meg off to Mount Olympus.
"I thought I'd find you here" her voice rang out as joined her soulmate on the boardwalk "And I was right" she added coming to a stop just beside the redhead who looked deep in thought as she stared at a ship in the docks "You disappeared".
"Sorry" she tells her love "Needed some air".
"Well, it's been a long day" the former Queen says glancing at the ship in the dock. It wasn't the Jolly Roger. She had seen it before, but she couldn't quite remember from when "What's with the boat anyway?".
"It's my Dad's ship" the redhead tells her "The Jackdaw".
She remembered now,as she took another look at the ship that meant so much to her partner. Back on Neverland. They found it's remains on dry-land shortly after landing to find Henry only to find the Captain himself alive, and somewhat well after years she thought he'd been dead for. But why was it here. Did that mean Romeo was down there with them?.
She didn't get a chance to voice her thoughts to the redhead as the woman turned her body to face her.
"We need to talk" the assassin started as she looked at her.
"Why have I got a back feeling about this?" the dark-bruntette voiced to her love out-loud.
"Because this isn't going to be easy to hear" Amelia tells her.
"Go on" Regina steeled herself to hear whatever the redhead had to say.
"Firstly. I'm sorry for lying to you earlier today, but it was the only way I could think of saying so I could go find him. I needed to help him first".
"Then why couldn't you come to any of us for help" she asked the woman in front of her.
"Because I thought it was something I needed to do on my own" she answers her "You once said that you never regretted everything you did in your previous life, because it got you Henry, right?".
"I do" she stiffly nodded, not liking where this was going.
"Coming to this place Regina" she breathed out "Being in the hands of my old family. It's made me think of all the things I came to regret, even from before I started working for the Evil Queen. Hercules was just the start, having him forgive me after so long would make me feel better, but it hasn't. Not really".
"W-What are you trying to say?" the former Queen stammered as she already knew what the redhead was trying to tell her. But she needed to hear it come from the woman herself to actually believe it as her head started to involuntarily shake at the redhead only for her to continue.
"My ledger if full of red" she stated to the former Queen "I know what you and Emma are planning to once you find Killian".
"Regina, I can't, I won't take your heart, not when you've come so far, not for me. I've done my job Queenie" she repeated the words she said back in Camelot as she heard her love's heart break in front of her as she prepared to say the words she has needed to say to her ever since she came to the Underworld.
"I want to move on".
AN: Thank you once again for reading the chapter!.
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