With the image of the names of their loved ones freshly engraved onto tombstones in the cemetery, Henry and Tom set out to find Cruella the next morning to find the Author's pen, or its version of it in the Underworld.
Sat in the back of the speeding Panther, the teenage assassin did his best keep himself from sliding across the backseat as he held on to anything he could get his hands on, as Cruella De Vil drove up and down the country roads on the outskirts of Underbrooke (as his step-mother had now dubbed it) for any sign of the Author's Pen in the forest. Even though his mother wanted to stay on move on, he wasn't going to let this chance he might get her back go.
"Can you please slow down?" Tom tells the woman from the back as he pulled himself forward in between front seats to speak to the driver.
"Darling, you wouldn't be here if you didn't like a little danger" she told the teen in the back before he pushed himself back into his seat, eyeing both boys in the rear view mirror "I mean, look at you both... sneaking away from your family to bring me back to life. Such naughty boys" she chuckled out to the pair of them.
"I just want to find the pen and get this over with" Henry told her "What am I even looking for?".
"A sign, signal, whiff of ink" she listed to the young teen "Look, you're the Author. You're connected to that quill" She tells Henry before looking in the rear view mirror to the elder "And you in the back, can see anything magical with that little sight of yours" she tells him as he looks back at her in surprise "Oh yes I do know about it darling, but keep it between us will you, can't have your mommy knowing I once used her little bird against her" Cruella continued with a smirk, just as Henry sees a flash bright light between the trees.
"Stop! I saw something" At Henry's command, Cruella stops the car immediately and the tires screech as she comes to a dangerous stop making the teen fall back into the backseat with a yelp quickly followed by a painful thump and groan of pain emitting from behind them.
Rubbing the side of his head, the teenage assassin willed for the light thumping to subside as he and Henry led the older villain through the woods to towards the place where the younger teen had seen the flash of light come from.
"Well, there's no pen here, just dirt and things that smell like dirt" Cruella complains to the teen's in front of her, no happy about their current situation of hiking in the woods.
"I swear I saw it" Henry insists to the villain.
"Well, then, move those little legs of yours and keep looking. Go!" she says shooing the teens of to continue the search, she comes to a stop and shudder to herself.
Continuing by themselves, Tom let his little brother lead the way as they ducked under branches as they looked for anything that would tell them they were getting any closer to the pen. Even Tom's 'Spidey Sense" (As Henry likened called his Eagle Vision) wasn't telling him anything. There was nothing magical his sixth sense could pick up on.
Coming to a stop the pair survey their surroundings looking for anything that could point them in the right direction, only for a hand to touch Henry's shoulder, making him turn around in panic only to see a familiar face looking back at him.
At the sudden movement Tom whirls around with his hidden blades out ready to pounce on the person that took them by surprise only to relax when he saw the Apprentice, the blades sliding back into place just as quickly as they had come out.
"Quiet" The Apprentice warns them both "We have little time".
"I don't understand" Henry asks the man surprised to see him in the Underworld "W-What are you doing here? You were a devoted apprentice to the Sorcerer your entire life. What unfinished business could you possibly have?" he asks him before the apprentice looks between the teens in front of him.
"You two, my boy" he tells them before focusing on Henry "I am here to prevent you from making a terrible mistake. You must not resurrect Cruella De Vil" the Apprentice tells them sternly.
"So the pen can bring someone back. You told me it couldn't".
"That was a necessary... half-truth. Up there, yes. Down here, the rules are a little more... flexible. I saw no reason to tempt you. The dilemma you are currently in is why".
"I'm not getting the pen for Cruella" Henry tells the man "I'm getting it for me. I just watched my mom become the Dark One. I watched Hook and Amelia die, and I couldn't do anything".
"You are the Author. As such, you should use the quill only to record the stories, not create them".
"I don't care about the stupid stories anymore. I'm sick of sitting on the side-lines. I want to be a hero. I want to help my mom even if it means helping Cruella".
"Me too" Tom spoke up making the Apprentice look at him "My Mom's been through hell".
"That I don't doubt my boy" the Apprentice agreed to him as he remembered the first time he met the deity "Juno is a force to be reckoned with, it took Amelia all the strength she had to be able to defeat her. Not even Merlin himself could do it" he admitted to the teen sadly "But you should think of what she wants young man. She defeated Juno so you would not have to, something that every Hybrid has been unknowingly tasked with ever since my dear friend Altair was tasked to keeping Juno in her prison until his last breath, something that was passed down onto her from your grandfather. That was her last gift to you. To live unburdened by prophecy".
The Apprentice's word left tears in the teen's eyes as he turned back to Henry "Now. In the Sorcerer's mansion lie all his great works of light magic, the quill included. It is protected by a powerful spell, but the sheriff took the key from me. Acquire that key and the quill is yours".
Henry looked at the Apprentice in surprise "Wait, what? You're, you're helping me?".
"This is your choice, Henry, but the only way that I can move on is if you make the right one. I trust you" he turned to Tom once again "Respect you mothers wishes until she changes her mind, and she will" at that the Apprentice.
She never thought she would ever be stood on the deck of the Jackdaw again after leaving the Brotherhood to start her life back with her birth family and her first love, but she never would've thought it would be in the Underworld for that matter.
It hadn't changed since the last time she had stepped foot on the brig that held so many memories for her as a young girl, even the engraving she and her sister had made in the main mast still remained as she gently traced the letters with her fingers as she heard the hammer of a flintlock pistol click onto place behind her, making her freeze as she felt the barrel of the pistol being pressing into the back of her head.
Rolling her eyes to herself the blonde assassin held up her hand and turned around to meet a redheaded woman with the flintlock pistol still held up her head. She stood tall as long fiery red hair spilled over her shoulders and a pair of green eye met her's.
"Anne Bonny I presume" she greets the woman in front of her.
"Aye" the figure holding the pistol to her head replied noting the gauntlets on the blonde's arms "What of it, Assassin?" she hissed out the last word like a bad taste in her mouth as she lowered the gun back down to her side, ready to be used if need be.
"I'm looking for someone" Anastasia told her.
"He's not here. The Captain of this ship passed through this place a little while ago. It's mine now".
"I'm not looking for Romeo Montague".
"How do you that name?".
"I'm his daughter" Anastasia tells her taking note of the way a flash of pain betrayal went through her eyes only to correct her "Adopted. He took me in as his apprentice when I was a child. Why are you on his ship if he's moved on?".
Anne kept her mouth shut to stop her from answering, only to answer with another question "What are you doing here, if not for Romeo?".
"Looking for you Anne Bonny, even if that is your real name" Anastasia says narrowing her eye's at the older redhead.
"It's the last name I went by when I was alive. The one that keeps me hidden from those who would see me in the river of lost souls".
"Then you can help me. I'm looking for someone, my sister's mother. Juliet Capulet".
"Never heard of her" Anne said shaking her head at the blonde.
"Maybe not, but you know something don't you Anne Bonny" Anastasia told the woman only for the redhead to let out a chuckle to herself before aiming the gun to the wooden mast next to the blonde assassin's head, pulling the trigger the blonde flinched covering her face with her arm as splinters of wood erupted from the round bullet that was now lodged into the mast.
"Get off my ship before I make your trip down here a little more permanent" at that the blonde made her way off the ship and down the ramp as Ophelia emerge from the Captains Cabin with a bottle of rum in her hand to see Anastasia skulking off the ship.
"Bit over the top don't you think?"the brunette assassin told the redhead as the latter made her way back towards the cabin "You could've really blown her head off".
"Fuck off Ophelia" Anne told the brunette shoving the warm piston into her grasp as she let herself back into the cabin.
She has had many silent breakfasts with her love over the years, but that was mainly due to the fact that Snow had yet again, but this was something else. Sat across from the other, in a booth in Granny's, the former Evil Queen and her Black Widow sat in silence as they sipped and eat what food they could stomach that morning.
There wasn't much to say, the redhead had made up her mind about moving on, and when she had, it was hard to change it. The Blind Witch made her presence known to the women that killed her between them sat in the booth as she sauntered over with a pot of coffee in her hands to stand at their table.
"More coffee Amelia?" the witch offered the assassin. The last thing she felt (except for the feeling of her flesh burning) was the assassin's foot pushing her into the oven.
"I'll pass thanks. You don't make it as hot as I usually take it" she tells the witch trying her best to stop the smirk that wanted to pull on her lips.
"Mmmhh" the witch hummed with tight smirk "Sorry, I'll make sure its extra scalding next time" at that the witch left the couple to themselves as the redhead looked over to her partner to meet a pointed look and a raised brow looking straight at her.
"Really?" Regina scoffed at the redhead.
"Ah, so you can speak" the redhead replied with a sly smirk playing her lips.
"Please tell me that wasn't just to get me to speak?".
"Not entirely. I've been waiting for an opportunity to say something like that since coming down here. Win. Win" she shrugged at the former Queen.
"Amelia-" Regina started.
"You know" the assassin interrupted her "I do need a drink, just something a bit stronger" raising her arm up wave a waitress over the former Queen saw the assassin flinch in pain, her face contorting in pain as her healing muscle's protested the sudden movements.
"You know I can heal you now" her love points out to her. She had her magic back, She would be able to heal whatever else that the other assassin's did to her.
"Don't care" the redhead dismissed her help as a waitress saw her.
"Melia-".
"It's nothing I don't deserve" she snapped at the former Queen making her jump in her seat as a heavy fist hit the surface of the table "Just leave it, please" the words escaped her lips before she could stop them as Regina just stared at her in disbelief.
The redheads saving grace came in the form of Emma entering the diner knowing someone in her extended family would be there. Seeing the pair a the booth the blonde savior approached the table only to feel the thick tension between the couple as soon as got close to them. She didn't need magic the sense something was wrong between the pair, but she would have to ask later.
"Hey" she slowly greets the pair looking between them as she see's Amelia hide the balled up fist under the table "You guy's okay?".
"Fine" Amelia made herself say to the savior "Everything's fine".
"Okay. Killian and I found a lead. We're all meeting at the loft. You guys in?".
"Of course" Amelia answered for the pair as she quickly left her seat to head for the door start whatever mission that day in store for them.
Making their way to the loft, the redhead kept her distance with the former Queen as Emma gave them the rundown on what she had discovered with her love. A Storybook. But not the storybook they all knew, it was the Underworlds version of it with Hades story included in it, with a way to stop him.
But as they entered the loft to meet Killian's older brother Liam. The one that had died on Neverland. Once he looked at her, he looked like he had just seen a ghost as he froze meeting a pair of familiar green eye's he had met years ago.
"Juliet" he breathed out in awe seeing Amelia.
She had to do a double take as she stared back at the man who had just uttered her mothers name. Nothing good ever came from someone calling her Juliet.
"Excuse me?" she replied to the man as she looked to the Captain for some clarity at what was happening.
"No, no,no " Killian quickly corrected his brother walking across the loft to his brother's side putting hand on his shoulder to get his attention back "This is Amelia Montague. A friend".
"My apologies Amelia" Liam forced himself to say her name as the redhead quickly accepted his apology with a nod before re-focusing on the current plan to find the storybook. Making her way down the counter she found the one handed pirate as Snow and David went to find the wooden chest she once found the Storybook in in Storybrooke.
"Don't think I'm going to let that go anytime soon" Amelia quietly told the freshly healed man next to him making him smirk to himself.
"I'd be worried if you didn't luv" Hook quietly replied as David brings a wooden box into the kitchen and places it in front of his wife.
"In the world above, this is where I found the Storybook" Snow explained to Liam "So.." She opens the box and begins searching through, but doesn't find anything but sweaters "Sorry" she sighs in disappointment.
"Are we really surprised?" Regina spoke up "That book is the embodiment of hope, and there's not a lot of that here in the Underworld".
"Let's keep looking" David told the group as they split up around the loft in search of the book. Amelia ventured over to the small sofa in the 'living room' to start her search only for search to be annoyingly halted as a shot of pain went through her body making her stiffen as it made her catch her breath.
Taking a sudden seat on the sofa caught the attention of their resident pirate as he looked over to see the woman grimacing in pain.
"Luv?" he asked the redhead in concern.
"I'm fine. Nothing I can't handle" she brushed off the pirates concern.
"What happened?" he asked her.
"A..reunion with my old family" she told him "I didn't really think they'd be happy to see me again after killing them, could've been worse I suppose" her green eye's met his but she couldn't hold his gaze for long as they shied away from the pirate as a wave of guilt went through her mind.
"What happened to me wasn't your fault" he told her.
"Then what happened to me wasn't yours" she quietly added. Hook gave her a nod in acknowledgement before he resumed his search, turning out a backpack. Once empty Amelia helped Hook looked thought the notebooks until a pair descending the staircase caught their attention seeing Liam coming down the stairs.
Liam's eye's sought out Amelia's before turning to the kitchen before Emma descended the same stairs who didn't seem like herself.
"You alright?" Hook asked the blonde in concern.
"Yeah. Fine" Emma lied to her boyfriend that was picked up by the Assassin "Let's keep looking" she tells them before walking in Hook's direction, just as the loft door opened for Henry and Tom to walk in to find their family scattered throughout the bottom half of the apartment.
"Hey" the young teen greets the others as the older one find his mother sat "What's... going on?" Henry asked the adults in confusion.
"Oh, looking for the storybook" Snow answered her grandson as she waled out from the bottom bedroom into the kitchen "You know, "Underworld Edition" she adds with a shrug.
"Really?" Tom murmured to himself with intrigue as an idea popped into his head after their conversation with the Sorcerer's Apprentice. He looked wide eyed at the younger teen. A pause grew between the pair as Tom steered him toward what the Apprentice had told them that morning.
Henry didn't take the hint until Tom quickly jabbed the side of his ribs with his elbow "W-well, we think I might know exactly where it is" Henry told he adults suddenly gaining the room's attention.
"How would you two know that?" David asked the boys joining the conversation with Regina and Liam either side of the couple as Amelia gently stood up from the sofa.
"The Apprentice. We saw him at..." Henry trailed off.
"..at Granny's" Tom quickly picked up Henry's sentence which made the redhead look at her son suspiciously knowing that wasn't right. She was in the diner all morning and hadn't seen the Apprentice.
They were both acting odd "He said the Sorcerer's mansion is down here and there's a bunch of his stuff inside, like the Storybook" Tom continued with Henry nodding along.
"Finally, some good news" Regina commented.
"Well, sort of" Henry continued "The house is locked with magic, and the Sheriff has the key".
"Your evil twin is Sheriff?" Hook sent to David "Hades has panache, I'll give him that" he added to himself, as the redhead beside him felt her stomach drop at the news that Prince James was in possession of the key they would need.
She didn't know he was here until that moment. She didn't need to know. Her old family
Amelia's stomach dropped at the mere through of being in the same world as that man. That..monster.
"James is here?" she breathed out a little too loudly as her mind swam. Hearing her love's reaction a curious brow rose on the former Queen's face seeing her react like she had just seen a ghost.
"Well, it's time for my brother and me to have an overdue chat" David said to the group taking the attention off her.
"Well, you won't be alone. I still owe him a punch in his pretty mouth for kissing me" Snow adds snapping Amelia of of her thoughts.
"He kissed you?" "He did what!" David and Amelia said at the same time making the former Princess jump at the assassin's raised voice making her look
"I thought it was David" she told the redhead sheepishly before heading for the door with her husband behind her.
"In the meanwhile" Liam spoke up as he walked towards the dining table to grab his coat from the back of chairs "We should all go about our usual business. Hades has eyes everywhere. We can't have him learning what we're up to".
"Fine plan" Hook told his brother "Can't wait to see the look on his face when he learns a valuable lesson... one should never mess with the Brothers Jones" at that the pair of brothers left leaving behind Emma, Regina and the teenagers as they prepared to leave to carry out Liam's 'plan'. Only for Emma to notice the redheads lack of movement as she seemed to be deep in thought in a world of her own.
"Lia?" she calls out to the woman which seemed to shake her out of whatever thoughts she was having to look at the blonde.
"I'll meet you both at the diner" she told the others as she made her feet move towards the door only for Emma to stop her. Again. This was getting annoying.
"Hey wait, what's wrong?" the blonde called out to her knowing something off with the redhead. Well more than usual for the redhead anyway.
"Nothing's wrong" Amelia tells her "I.."she started only to take a calm breath to continue her sentence "Just need to find someone".
"We know your hell bent of finding your unfinished business but maybe we could all focus on finding the story book. Whatever it is, let us help".
"Which is why I'll meet you there" the redhead tells her argued with the savior "Just trust me. Please" she implored to the blonde to listen to her for one, hoping a hint of desperation in her voice would help her in the long run.
"We do" Regina was the one to speak up making the redhead look back at her.
"Then let me go" reluctantly, the blonde stepped aside and let the redhead leave the apartment to whatever mission she was on, leaving a worried look on the former Queen's face as she watched her truelove leave once again, not sure if she would see her again that day.
Enchanted Forest
The Dark One's Castle
Many Years Ago
His plan was in motion. Soon Rumpelstiltskin would have the ingredient needed to place inside the dark curse before giving it to the Evil Queen that would take him to find his son. But it would come at a cost. He had to get Prince James out of the way for his identical twin brother to take his place. Killing him was easy enough, the ignorant Prince was far too busy festering in his small victory to have the 'defeated' knight behind him kill him anyway.
Only he had promised another when the time came for the Prince the die, it would be by her blade and her blade only. But he couldn't risk her making him suffer for what he had done to her, no, it needed to be quick, he needed King George desperate, and the only way to ensure his kingdoms financial future with the loss of the Brotherhood refusing to trade with him, his son's married to King Midas's daughter was the only solution. And soon the Black Widow would find out for herself what he had done.
The young woman held his sister's fiery personality, and her reaction would even put the Evil Queen's own anger to shame. Not even a full day had passed since the death of Prince James had reached her ear and as if one cue the Black Widow burst into the room without inviation.
"We had a deal!" she yelled at the Dark One from her place at the large wooden doors at the other end of long extravagant dining table while he sat at his spinning wheel, calming his mind as he spun straw into threads of gold.
"I do not seem to recall any other deal I have made to you other than the one we made for you deal with anyone who dared to go back on their deal with me"
A growl left the assassin''s throat as she quickly closed the distance between her and the Dark One on his spinning wheel as a heeled boot appeared in his vision on his spinning wheel with enough brute force to topple the wooden piece onto the floor making the man blink at the woman in shock at what she had done as he felt his own rage bubble within in at the woman's gall to touch his spinning wheel yet break it in a fit of pure rage.
"Dare play the fool old man!" she yelling his his scaled, glittered face "We had a deal, that when the time came came for Prince James to die it was to my blade. My blade and no one else! He was mine to kill for what he did to me! MINE!".
She wasn't sure what happened next as in a blink of her eye, she suddenly felt a hand enclosed around her heart still her chest as she choked on the words that wanted to leave her lips until her throat was sore and course, in desperation of thirst only to find she couldn't speak at all as the Dark One literally held her life in his hand. He squeezed as much as he could taking the assassin to the edge of her heart turning into dust in her chest there and then before letting go.
"Go on" she chokes out to the man as she felt her heart thump against his enclosed hand "Do it. I'll save me the trouble" she urged him as tears of pain fell from her eyes as she grew frustrated at his hesitation to end her life "Crush it!" she yelled in his face before the Dark One made himself let go of her heart and take his hand out of her chest.
The assassin fell onto her hands and knees before him as she gasped for breath.
"Coward" she gasped out to the Dark One who had turn his back to her "Fucking coward!" she yelled needing to get a rise out of him, she needed something from him, anything to take this rage out on, but he wouldn't move, not even an inch as she staggered to her feet as a new idea came to her mind. One that wouldn't fill the hole in her heart but it would be justice enough to see whatever Rumple's plan to fail before it started.
"If I can't kill James. I'll just kill his replacement"she tell the sorcerer as she turns to leave with her chest still aching only to be halted with a wave of his hand.
Red smoke engulfed the pair as they reappeared in his dungeon, with her in one of his small cells and him on the other side ready to leave the assassin for as long as it took for her to calm down and continue with her own plans for vengeance.
Rushing to the door the assassin grabbed the small bars set into the locked door of the cell to see that her gauntlets were missing from her arms and on closer inspection was every other weapon that had been strapped and hidden on her body. She couldn't get out.
"Let me out!" she yelled through the bars "NOW!" she demanded out of the sorcerer.
"I'll let you out when you've calmed down dearie" he giggled at her before the smirk on his lips dropped from his face "Once you've learn the valuable lesson of not crossing me in my own castle".
"Don't worry" he giggled "I'll tell the Queen of your temporary residence".
"I hate you" she slowly seethed at him through the bars. She meant every word in that moment as he saw his sister's green eye's looking straight back at him. The flash of recognition made the sorcerer jump away from the bars in fright as if his own sister were saying the words to him before turning around to leave the assassin to her own devises inside his cell her yells echoing through the underground dungeon until she finally gave up.
"I HATE YOU! I FUCKING HATE YOU!".
Sending the Prince turned Underworld Sheriff a message to meet her on the outskirts of Storybrooke was the easy task. All she had to do was send the closest weasel that she could find lurking around and send them towards the Prince.
Taking her own car, she stopped in the middle of a countryside road that was deserted except from her and her black car she drove in Storybrooke. She didn't have long to wait as she heard a car speeding up the deserted road, towards her. She simply stood in the middle of the road as he came to a skidding stop his sheriffs bumper an inch away from touching her shin. James opened the driver's side of the car and let himself up leaning on the car door as he set his sight's on the woman for the first time in years.
"Amelia" he breathed out with an evil smirk. He was David's double alright. His eyes uncomfortably racked up and down her body like prey. His gaze un-nerving her as she pushed the feeling away. She couldn't be that sixteen-year-old right now.
"Stay away from my family" she got straight to the point.
"Now which family is that now?" James asked her. Slamming his door shut before taking a few steps towards her she had fight herself not to take steps away from him "The one you killed one by one, or the one you made with my brother and his little wife".
"You know what I mean" she told him defiantly "Your business is with your brother not them".
"Or you'll what? Kill me? You're a little late for that" he was dangerously close to her now. He brought his face nears her's but she was frozen still has he had full control of her like he had all those years ago "You know, when I heard you were down here, I was looking forward to see you again, and I wasn't disappointed" he told the assassin with a low husky voice that made her want to vomit "You grew up nicely".
Reaching up to touch her face like the same way he did when they were younger, he was fell short of his fingers tracing her jaw as his forearm was caught in vice grip to rip his arm away as he felt a tip of a blade meet the bottom of his chin. She felt his chuckle vibrate through the steel blade she held against his throat, laughing off her empty threat.
"Don't ever presume you can touch me, again" she seethed through her teeth "Or lose the one thing you care about" she add's glancing towards the front of his pants before meeting his eye again.
"Mmhh" he hummed to himself as a smirk graced his lips "You've gotten feisty" he observes out load taking a step away from the redhead with his hands up in the air in a mock surrender. Even if she couldn't kill him here, he knew she would make him suffer worse "I like" he adds with a suggestive wink of his eye making her grimace at the thought.
Dropping his hands from the air the Sheriff headed back to his car, opening the driver's side to lean his shoulders on the door to speak to her "You're right. Consider my attention focused on my brother. Sorry I missed your Dad, would've loved a chat with him" he tells her with a smile "but I'll make sure to say hello to your Mom for you" he quickly adds before climbing into the patrol car to reverse and turn around back into town to leave with her the knowledge of her mother being down here.
Meanwhile at the diner Regina and Emma waited for the saviors parents to return with the key to the sorcerer's mansion from the Sheirff's station. As the former Queen calmly sat with a drink in front of her. Emma watched the door like a hawk as she waited recalling what Liam had told her in the loft. That she should let him move on from this place, blaming her for what happened to him in Camelot.
"Will you stop staring at the door?" Regina quietly scolds the younger woman "When your parents walk through it, I promise I'll tell you".
"Maybe this was a bad idea" Emma voiced to her friend "I should've gone with them".
"Would you relax? People are starting to stare at us" Regina tells the blonde "Remember what Liam said we need to act casual".
At that Emma relented and sat down on the stool next to the dark brunette "Yeah, what do you think of Liam, anyway? You don't think he's a little self-righteous, do you?".
"He doesn't like you, does he?" Regina easily deduced Emma's question.
"He doesn't think I'm good enough for Hook".
Regina chuckles at the statement "To be honest, you're too good for Hook" she tells the blonde.
"He's different with Liam. It's like he thinks he walks on water" Emma explained to Regina.
"What's going on?" the former Queen asked Emma in concern.
"Liam thinks I should let Hook move on" Emma shares with her.
"Who cares what Liam thinks? What does Hook think?".
"He agrees".
"Well, that's because he hasn't forgiven himself".
"How do you know that?" the blonde questioned her.
"Though I hate to admit it, we're much alike... and forgiving yourself is the hardest thing to do. You want to help Hook? Help him with that".
"And Lia?" Emma challenged the dark brunette opposite her "How can you help her?".
"I don't know" Regina confided in the blonde as her eye's flickered downwards give away her pain of Amelia not wanting to come back with her and their son's "She won't talk to me, when she does.." she trails off trying to think why the redhead keeps pushing her away "I think she trying to protect me somehow. From what exactly? I have no idea" she trailed off refocusing on her drink in front of her.
Emma gave the woman a sympathetic look as they heard the bell above the door ring out announcing someone's arrival The door opened to the sight of Anastasia entering the door trying to ease the ringing sound from her right ear from the sloe range gunshot.
"What the hell happened to you?" Regina asked the younger woman as she saw wooden splinter's covering her coat.
"What does it look like?" she retorted "I was shot at".
"What?!" Emma and Regina exclaimed in unison.
"I'm fine" she quickly brushed off their concern as she took a seat on a bar stool with her "Although I can't hear anything out of my right ear" she adds as she continues try and stop her the ringing to stop.
"Who shot at you?" Emma asks the woman beside them.
"There's a woman that goes by the name of Anne Bonny residing on the Jackdaw" she informs the pair, the name peaked both Regina and Emma interest "I went to see who was living there since we know Romeo moved on from this place to find her with a flintlock held against my head".
"The pirate? Like Hook?" Regina asked the blonde assassin, taking both the savoir and the duchess by surprise.
"You know her?" Emma was the one to ask her.
"Of her" the former Queen corrected them. Stories of a female pirate even made its way to her father's estate "What could she know about Juliet?".
"She know's something. I just have to dig deep enough" she goes on as Regina huffs seeing the woman struggling to ease the pain in her ear, flicking her wrist and hand out towards the assassin's ear, a breath of relief leaves the duchess's lips as the ringing stopped with Regina's help.
"Would Killian know her?" Emma asked the blonde assassin as she bell above the door rung out again as Anastasia's answer died on the tip of her tongue as her sister sauntered into the diner to find her sister, partner and friend already at the bar.
"Well seeing as you're not bleeding this time. I say your mystery meeting went well" Regina greeted her partner as she rounded the bar to stand next to her love.
"Well enough" Amelia shrugged as she received a white mug from the waitress taking a sip from the brown liquid that sat within. A curious brow grew on Emma's face at the waitresses swiftness to get Amelia a drink she hadn't even ordered yet.
Now that she thought about it, whenever Amelia was with them everyone there would make sure to stay out of their way or go out of their way to keep Amelia happy. It was like she was royalty in the Underworld.
"Who did you meet?" Emma inquired with the redhead as she took a sip of the coffee from her the porcelain mug, grimacing at the scalding hot liquid meeting her tongue. At least the Blind Witch kept to her promise as she set the mug down on the surface to wait for it to cool down before trying again.
"No one important" she dismissed the question "But, I did learn my mother is down here" she tells them as she sought out the waitress for some cream. Both Anastasia and Emma looked towards the former Queen as they tried to silently communicate with each other to try and keep the assassin talking about the one person they had been trying to find behind her back. At least they now knew the woman was defiantly down here. As the former Widow was quickly served as she was given some cream to dump into her hot drink.
"And uh, how do feel about that?" Emma gently pressed the redhead taking charge of the situation.
"I don't know whether to be concerned or annoyed".
"How so?" Regina inquired with the woman next to her. This was the most she had gotten out of the woman since coming here with the exceptions of her admitting she wanted to move on with or without any of their help.
"Concerned that she's here with my old family around and members of her old order around".
She had seen a few Templar's milling around town, some she recognized and some she didn't, but she knew who they were without speaking to them by the way they looked at her.
"And annoyed?" Regina pressed her partner.
The redhead paused as she tried to pinpoint the reason why she was annoyed of knowing that her mother was in the Underworld with her, a technique that seemed to work with her during her sessions with Archie.
"That she hasn't tried to find me" she answered the question as she looked towards her sister to see splinter's of wood on the shoulder of her bright coat as her eye's narrowed at the odd image.
"Where the hell have you been all morning?" the redheaded sent the question towards her sister as the door to the diner once again rung out, this time it was Henry and Tom walking in with the good news they needed.
"Moms. Aunt Stasia" Henry called out to the quartet of women at the counter making all four of them look towards him and Tom as he held a key in his hand "Grandma found the key".
Stood on the porch of the mansion they had once set the scene of finding the hundreds of blank storybooks, month ago.
Leaving Anastasia in the diner the redheaded assassin, Regina, Emma and the boys met up with the Jones brothers to find the sorcerer's mansion. The Apprentice was true to his word as the group let themselves onto the piece of property weary of who or what could be watching them with the key firmly in their possession.
"The mansion is here" Hook stated to the group as they walked up the porch of the large mansion to stop at the locked front door "I guess old White Beard was telling the truth".
"Do we have the key?" Liam asked his brother eager to get inside.
"We have it" Killian tells his brother holding up the key "But there's a protection spell on the door. Could be dangerous to open it".
"Oh, well, I suppose I should do the honors" Liam literally stepped forward to volunteer for the group "I've been dead the longest. I'd say I have the least to lose".
"You always were the noble one, weren't you?" Hook says handing Liam the key. Taking the key from his brother, the sailor stepped toward the door, slotting the key and turning it as they all heard the click of the lock move out of place, the group let out a breath of relief to see the man unharmed from unlocking the door to the mansion.
"That was super anticlimactic" the redhead hummed out load "Good job for not killing us Jones" she says pushing past him to open the door to let herself into the mansion ready to find the Underworlds version of the storybook. The former Captain could only watch as the woman that reminded herself so much of Juliet Capulet entered the mansion head first with no fear of what could by lying inside.
She wasn't expecting much as she entered the mansion first with Hook closely following her. Thick cobwebs and dust hung and lied everywhere as sheets covered the furniture that usually greeted them the other times they had ventured inside the large home.
Being the gentleman he was Hook lifted a thick cobweb out of the assassin's way, reaching up and over her head to do so as his love could pass under as well as the other's followed filed into the entryway of the mansion.
"Wonderful. Love what they've done with the place" Hook commented as he saw the redhead survey their surroundings.
"Me too. An improvement right?" she teased the Captain with a sideways glance as he saw a certain sparkle in her eye that he hadn't seen in her eye since the had been reunited.
"We should split up. Move fast" Liam suggested to the group taking taking the blonde savior by surprise as he left the group to start the search himself as a curios brow rose on the assassin's face at the mans eagerness to find the book. She took note where he went, intent to follow him and question on his misunderstanding earlier.
"Uh, yeah. I guess" Emma agreed with the older Jones before looking at the two teenage boys "Henry, Tom uh, you got to stay here".
"But this was our idea" Henry argued with his birth mother "I'm not gonna stand behind and do nothing".
"You're not doing nothing. You're the lookouts" she argued to the pair making Tom frustrated huff came from the redheads son making his mother's look at the older teen.
"Lookout?" Henry questioned her.
"Don't argue with your mother" Regina scolded her son.
"But..." Henry continued to argue only to be quickly interrupt any complaining from him or the novice assassin stood next to him.
"-Or your mother" Regina scolded the pair as they looked over to redhead, hoping she would be their saving grace only to be met with a silent challenging brow, daring them to argue with her. But they quickly shut their mouths knowing they wouldn't be able to sway the redhead.
Dispersing from the entryway, the adults went their separate ways as Amelia followed the route Liam took to have that private conversation she needed to have with him. As Emma and Hook left together, she gave both teens a sympathetic pat on their shoulders knowing they had lost a fight they were never going to win against all three of them, leaving the pair behind to go against their parents wishes.
"That's the last time they leave us behind" Tom states to his younger brother as he nods along with his statement as his irises flashed gold as he blinked on his sixth sense to find the Authors pen as Henry stepped forward to start his own search for his pen.
"All right, pen. If you're in here, give us a sign".
Splitting herself from the other's the master assassin easily found the eldest Jones brother searching through various display cabinets that were covered up by white sheets. She barely made a noise as she found the Captain search through the number of displays at stood in the rooms. The scuff of her boot of a rug made the man jump as he realized he had been followed as he whirled around to face the assailant behind him only to see the redhead he had mistaken for a passenger of his a long time ago.
"Amelia" he stated trying to calm his beating heart.
"Sorry" she quickly apologized for making him jump "Didn't mean to sneak up on you. Bad habit of mine".
"It's fine, my brother told me you were an assassin of the Brotherhood of Assassins".
"I am...or was" she corrected herself. She was dead, she wasn't an assassin anymore. She refused to put on the gauntlets Regina had been wearing when she was taken to her by Ophelia. Once a pair of gauntlets were taken off an assassin that had died with them on, they no longer belonged to them. That's why it was so easy for her to give Romeo's gauntlets to Tom.
That's why she had asked David to take them off her when she thought she was going to die in Camelot. It was better for a friend to do it than a stranger or enemy wanting to keep them as some sort of trophy.
"I'm sorry" he replied in sympathy seeing the way she had to correct herself, like his brother, she had only recently died. It was something she would have to get used to.
"I thought I would help you with our search".
"Oh, uh, That's not necessary".
"Well seeing as I know this house better than the underworld. I can help" she gave him no room for him to dismiss her as he nodded along and allowed the woman to help him search the room they had found, the pair staying in silence as the looked under every dust-cover to see any sign of the book that would tell them something about Hades past.
"So" Amelia broke the silence gaining the order's Jones attention "Who's Juliet?".
A light chuckle escaped the man as he looked back to the redhead "Killian warned me about you" he started "You remind me of her actually, always asking questions".
"Call it, natural curiosity" she tells him.
"Doesn't curiosity kill the cat".
"Haven't you noticed. I've used up my nine lives, what harm could it do?".
"Juliet Capulet was an enigma" Liam described her mother fondly "Nothing could scare her, not even a ship full of men".
That sounded like her Mother. The peice of sentiment made the assassin smile to herself from the stories Romeo and Paola told of her.
"How did you meet?".
"Through her father Lord Capulet" He answered her "He paid good money for her to join our voyage to a place called Neverland. They were apart of this order I forget the name of".
"Templar Order" Amelia supplied for the man.
"Yes, that's the one" he thanked her with a nod "They were seeking something on the island. During the voyage she mainly kept to herself in her cabin, until I spoke to her one night" he revisited the memory of him and Juliet sat on the edge of the Jewel of the Realm as the stars shone above them the night before she would go onto the island by herself.
"You fell for her" Amelia easily deduced.
"I did" he admitted with a sad smile "I tried to convince her to come back to the Enchanted Forest with me once her work was done, but she told me she couldn't have the life I had envisioned for us. It was too important to give up on".
"I never saw her again after she set foot on the island. And then I died" she could hear the pain in his voice.
"I'm sorry" she told the man sympathetically. She understood why she couldn't give up the Templar Order just yet. She didn't have enough to give it up for. But the child she and Romeo had made was enough to risk everything it seemed. She was worth the risk.
"No,no I'm the one that's sorry" he told her "Just seeing you reminded me of her, you look oddly similar. How do you know of her?".
"She..was my mother" Amelia told the man attempting to rip the band-aid so to speak. It would be hard for him to hear that someone he cared for had found a future without him. He simply stared at her in a mix of astonishment and his mouth agape in shock that the woman's own daughter was now stood before him.
"Oh" was all he could say.
"She and my father met on Neverland actually. He was an assassin. He took her back the Forest to have me. She died when I was five. She's down here you know. Have you seen her?" she had to ask. She wasn't even sure she wanted to see her but if someone had seen her, know where she is, then maybe it would help her in her decision.
"I'm sorry.I haven't" A sad smile grew on the man's face "You look just like her".
"So I've been told. Many times" she tells the man with a nervous smile tugging on her lips "I don't think I know what to believe anymore" she admits to the man in front of her.
Lost. That's what the woman in front of him looked like at that moment. Her family needed to let her go as much as he wanted Emma to let his brother go.
"We should split up" Liam decided for the pair of them as she didn't get a chance to protest his decision as he walked away from her, the mere mention of her mother left her frozen in the middle of the room .
It didn't take long for Liam to find the book after leaving Juliet's grown daughter behind after telling her of his history with Juliet. The knowledge stung that the girl had married someone else she had met on the same island and had a child with them. But he something more important to do that think of a love he had let get away from him.
After tearing the pages out of the storybook he bides his time for before informing the other's of his 'discovery'. Gathering in the hidden library where hundred of blank storybook's had been found and still remained even in the Underworld, they went though it together.
As Regina, Emma and Hook looked through the book, page by page, the assassin kept her distance from the older Captain Jones as he idly by as they saw everyone else's story except from Hades in the book.
"There's no mention of Hades' story anywhere" Hook tells the group.
"Why am I not surprised?" Regina drawled out as she flicked to the back of the book for them to find evidence of torn out pages that told them the ending of whatever story it told.
"Yeah, and look. There's some pages that are missing" she tell them, it had been tampered with.
"Back during the first curse, I tore my story out of Henry's book so he wouldn't know I was the Evil Queen" the former Queen tells them.
"Well, if Hades has done the same, we don't stand much chance of finding it" Hook concludes before Emma looks at Liam suspiciously.
"What do you think, Liam?" she sends the question to the man stood away from the other's "You found the book. Was there any evidence it had been tampered with?".
"No" he answers her "And until I find any, I'll choose to have hope. Those pages could have fallen out and still be in this house, and I, for one, won't give up without trying to find them" he say's before walking out of the room.
"I see what you mean about self-righteous" Regina whispers in Emma's ear before following Liam out of the room with Amelia close behind leaving Emma and Killian alone.
Hook goes to follow the Assassin only to see Emma hadn't moved "What's wrong? Aren't you coming?".
"Uh, yeah. Sorry. " she starts to leave only for Hook to stop her because he knows something is off.
"No, wait. Wait. Not until you tell me what's going on. I know when something's bothering you" he says smiling at her softly.
"It's Liam" she admit's to her love "I've had a bad feeling ever since we met, and at first I thought it was just because he didn't like me. I think he's hiding something" she voiced her suspicions to the former pirate only for him to look at her in dis-belief.
"That's preposterous. My brother wouldn't lie" he argued.
"Maybe there's stuff about him you don't know. Maybe he does know what his unfinished business is down here".
"No, you're wrong about him. I know who my brother is. I'm gonna go help him find those pages" at that said he walk away from her angry at her suggestion his noble brother would stop them from knowing the truth about Hades.
Liam Jones had moved on.
After finding out the eldest Jones was the one to rip the pages out of the storybook on the God's orders, she couldn't help but feel sad for the man as Hades had offered him a deal he couldn't refuse to save his brother and dream for his crew in return. He also lost the woman he fell for, for her loyalty to the Templar cause only to fall in love with a man that was supposed to be her enemy.
Returning to the loft that evening the teens headed straight upstairs in a deep sulk as the they found David and Snow at the breakfast bar going through the Underworlds version of the storybook that acted as the spark that would eventually break the first curse as they came across other stories including Liam own.
The redhead couldn't help but wonder how this book portrayed her book, she would be seen as the villain, but would it show the reader the full picture of her life before the Black Widow. Of her hard childhood, to losing Anastasia and Romeo. To John and Tom on the Godspeed. The list went on for miles in her head at what her story could be.
"There's nothing in this entire book about Hades" Snow said in frustration.
"Liam ripped out every page" Hook tells them "On behalf of my brother, I'm sorry".
"You don't need to apologize" Amelia tried to reassure the pirate from her spot stood at the end of the counter with her love to her right and David to her left "I know what its like to under Hades thumb to keep a secret. It's far from a nice feeling" with a stiff nod from the pirate they continued their discussion.
"Maybe there's something else in here that can help us" Emma continued "Our Storybook had all kinds of secrets in it".
"Not everything" Amelia argued to the others making them look to her "Isaac only wrote about everything that happened to me after I got onto the Godspeed, he barely wrote about Romeo or the Godspeed sinking. The Black Widow was only written about when the Evil Queen was involved in the story" she adds glancing towards Regina.
"Well, Henry's kind of the expert on Storybooks" David supplied to the group "Where is he?".
"He's upstairs going full emo teenager with Tom".
"The full emo teenager expert apparently" Amelia added referring to her own son's current mood. Apparently being left as lookout left him in a foul mood. She understood what he was feeling, having the same been done to her before, but she had a feeling spouting off stories of the assassin's that was preached to her over and over again wouldn't help her in his current mood.
"And doesn't want to talk to anyone right now" Regina finished for the trio of mother's.
"Well, maybe they just don't want to talk to their mothers" David told the women heading for the stairs.
Scaling the stairs of the loft to the second bedroom, David found his Grandson sat on the edge of the bed with Tom lying on his back with his head on the pillow flicking the hidden blade within his right gauntlets in and out in boredom watching the blade with a equally bored expression on his face.
Finding the pen hidden under a lampshade with a bottle of black ink behind their guardians backs didn't feel right. It would be able to save everyone. But what the older teen's mother said to him had been stuck in his mind since speaking to the Apprentice that morning. She wasn't willing to for anyone to pay whatever price it would take for her to come back anymore. She wouldn't even put her gauntlets on.
They just sat in the loft waiting for someone to pick them up and use them. She had stopped fighting. Something he thought he would never see from her. He should be angry, he should yell at her until she agreed to put them back on, but he was just disheartened to get mad at her.
The Apprentice was right.
"Hey, there" David greeted the pair gently "What's my favorite grandson and his best friend up to?" the Prince asked the pair.
"Nothing. Just thinking" Henry answered for the both of them as David approached the bed.
"Mind if I think with you?" David asks the pair as he takes a seat on the bed next to the boys and sighs "So... what are we thinking about?".
"I don't want to talk about it" Henry answered once again as Tom remained silent, behind him.
"Okay. Let's talk about me" David started letting out a sigh "I had a... pretty bad day today. I learned that my twin brother resented me his whole life".
"I thought he grew up a prince" Henry asked his grandpa as Tom sat up on the bed to listen to the man.
"Guess he wanted something else. What I had. A loving mother".
"Please don't make this a lesson" Henry whines at his grandfather not in the mood for a lesson.
"Too late. See, some people would give anything to have a family like yours" David turns to meet Tom's gaze "Like both of yours. Because, whatever's going on with you both, you know you always have someone you can talk to. Or if you just want to stay up here and be teenager's, that's, cool, too" he adds before standing from the bed to walk back to the stairs to leave the teenagers to their woes.
But before he could walk downstairs the Prince was stopped by his grandson's voice.
"Wait" Henry calls out to him making him stop. David looks back to see both Henry on their feet.
"We need to show you something" Tom tells the former Prince.
Joining the adult downstairs, Tom and Henry told them the truth of what had gotten them in suck a downcast mood. They had found the Author's pen.
"The Author's pen? I thought you destroyed it" Regina asked her son as the adults looked to Henry for the answers as she clutched the storybook in her arms.
"I did, but that just brought it here" he tells them "The Apprentice told me where it was. I thought if I used its power, I could be a hero".
"Henry, Tom, what made you think you needed to do this?" Regina questioned her sons further.
"At first, it was Cruella" Tom tells them "She wanted us to use it to bring her back to life".
"Why would you help her?" Amelia asks the pair from her stop next to her love.
"To help you" Henry answered looking straight at his birth mother "She said you have all this guilt about killing her, and that's when I realized I have all this power and I ignore it. I just live in everyone's shadow. I want to be the hero instead of the one the heroes rescue" he tell his family as Amelia watched her son closely for anything that would tell her why he would be willing to this.
Then it came to her. Their talk at the docks. He asked her if there was another way to help that didn't involve splitting Regina's heart. This was the alternative. So Henry could somehow write her back alive, possibly even Hook. Stop Juno from ever being freed from Excalibur in the first place. He wanted to save her.
"I understand that. But that's not the way to do it" Emma tells the boys.
"I know, and that's why we're telling you now. I finally understand what the Apprentice meant. I'm gonna write the stories as they are, and I'll start with Hades. I'm gonna use the pen the correct way... To re-create his story".
"Hades went to a lot of trouble to keep us from learning his story" Snow voiced to her grandson and his friend seeing if they were up to the challenge.
"Which means we're onto something" Regina adds.
"Question is" David speaks up from next to the boys "What is Hades trying to hide from us?".
AN: Hello there!
Still alive! Working sucks...
Anyway hope you enjoyed the chapter and you're all keeping well.
Got a little last minute flashback with this chapter.
I have to say the 'don't argue with your mother- or your mother' was a scene I was most looking forward to writing for this episode. So funny. Literally had no chance winning that with Amelia there.
Until next time!
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