The Evil Queen's Black Widow

by 06bromleys

Nothing is True. Everything is Permitted. Cursed for betraying her Queen, Amelia Montague must figure out how she wants the rest of the world to perceive her. As the villain she became, or the hero she wants to be, but will her feelings for the Queen be a help or hindrance to the Master Assassin or she will she always be known as the infamous Black Widow (Rated M for safety)

101. Chapter 101: Ruby Slippers

Land of OZ

Many Years Ago

She didn't know what to expect when she got to OZ through one of the magic beans she had acquired through her contracts with Rumpelstiltskin, but she wasn't expecting this. Her heel boot covered feet landed on yellow brick cobbled stone as the portal closed behind her, giving the Master Assassin to take in her new surroundings.

There wasn't much to see in the dark except for the yellow brick road she was standing that seemed to illuminate the forest that surrounded it. With only that in the distance. Discouraged by what she was greeted with the assassin was tempted to use the second bean on her person to go back to the Enchanted Forest only to turn around and see where the yellow brick road eventually led to.

Bright lights shone in the dark sky as an emerald city stood tall and proud under a green cloud in the middle of the forest. This is where Rumple told her to go if she had any chance of finding out if Claudius had come here. Specially she needed to find a Wicked Witch.

---

The Underworld

Present

"Is she okay?" Snow fawned over her unconscious friend as David gently lied her down on the bed after finding her in the woods "Why is she down here?".

"She's not..." Henry trailed off thinking the worse.

"No, she's still breathing" Hook quickly tells the teen to which his redheaded mother instinctively reached out to . She was alive.

"Well, how long do you think she'll be out?" Snow looked towards Regina and Emma from next to the unconscious werewolf

"I don't know" the former Queen answered the woman from the end of the bed "We hit her with some strong stuff".

"Where has she been since she left Storybrooke?" David asked his wife.

"I don't know. She went to find her pack" Snow supplied to her husband.

"Unless they're dead" Amelia spoke up from next to the former Queen "Werewolf's are hard to find back home, if they don't kill each other, poacher's get them. I'd say she was sniffing in the wrong place".

"Any explanation for what she's doing here?" Hook asked the group as Emma leaned over her unconscious friend pulling out a piece of clothing from Ruby's hand.

"Just this" Emma said holding up a piece of blue and white plaid scrap of blue and white plaid pattern cloth that the redhead recognized straight away.

"Give me that" the redheaded assassin quickly demanded from the blonde savoir. Handing the assassin the ripped piece of cloth to examine it, the other's waited for the woman to say something as worry etched her face.

Looking towards the unconscious woman on the bed as she gripped the piece of fabric in her hand as a bad feeling knotted in her stomach.

"Dorothy" she breathed out-load for the group to her the fear that laced her voice.

---

It had felt like an age since she started walking down the brick road towards some sort of civilization. Coming upon a small village, the cottages that circled the yellow brick road that seemed the swirl in the circle to make a courtyard of the same yellow bricks, as its short villager's roamed around unbothered by her presence.

"Dwarfs?" she exasperated out to herself out load "Really?" she breathed out as she heard a small 'yap' coming from the ground to see a small grey and white dog at at her feet looking straight up at her, wagging it's small tail.

"Hello there" she greets the small dog with a tight lipped smile as she crouches down to hold out her gloved hand towards it. Hesitantly the dog sniffs at her hand and fingers before it starts to happily lick her as it's tail wags with even more enthusiasm than before as she stroke the long fur on his head.

She loved animals, big or small. There were several dogs that made the docks in Monteriggioni their home, she always asked if she could keep one of them to keep her company in the brothel, but she always denied, if not by Poala, but by the other Masters. The closest thing she had to a pet was the cat that stayed on the Jackdaw that ate any mice or rats that might've gotten on board as it went from dock to dock. It always hissed at her whenever it walked by her.

The small dog didn't protest as she scooped it up her hands to cradle it in her arms as she continued to make a fuss of the furry creature.

"Toto!" a girls voice came from behind her, making her whirl around with the small dog in her arms to see a dark haired girl in a blue and white plaid dress running towards her. The dog, Toto, barked seeing his owner coming towards them as he wiggled in her arms trying to get to his owner.

"Toto, you need to stop running off like that" the young woman chastised the small dog in the strangers arms before looking at the woman that was holding her dog "I'm sorry he's bothering you, I'm trying to train him".

"Not bothered at all" the redheaded strangers tells her "Here" she says handing the small dog back to her.

"I don't think I've seen you around here before" the dark haired woman observes out load seeing the redheaded woman in front of her in strange dark robes "I'm Dorothy" she introduces herself to the redheaded woman.

"Amelia" she replies with a curt nod of her head "I'm just passing through, I was told to go see a Wicked Witch of the West for more information".

Panic struct the young woman in front of her as she causally mentioned she was looking for the Witch that had caused so much darkness in the land since she had arrived.

"Why would you want see her?" she asks why she would be wanting to speak to the Witch.

"I'm looking for a man that might've passed through recently" she tells her "I need to find him".

"Who is he to you?".

"He killed my father".

"You want revenge" Dorothy stated to the redheaded woman.

"That and few other things" she offhandedly adds to Dorothy.

"You'll find her in Emerald City, keeping following the road and you'll find her, if not she'll find you".

"Thank you" turning her back on the young woman, the black widow continued on her journey to find the Wicked Witch of the West.

---

In the back of his pawn shop in the Underworld Rumpelstiltskin walking into the room to find his pregnant wife looking in the book she had once gifted Gaston 'Her Handsome Hero' as she couldn't stop thinking about the way the man had died at her hands. Pushing him into the River of Souls to stop him from killing her husband.

"Stop torturing yourself, Belle" Rumple tried to tell his true love.

"No, I... I gave Gaston this book to teach him that a true hero needs to show his enemy compassion. Right? But in the moment that I could've shown him mercy, what, I send him to a fate worse than death" she fretted to to man across the table from her".

"Belle, you were trying to protect our child" he tried to reassure her.

"Yeah, and... and you know, if Hades had actually destroyed the contract, then maybe I could live with what I did. But he found a loophole, and I darkened my soul, Rumple, just... just to save you".

"And now we can free our child from Hades' grasp together" he concludes.

"No, I-I need to make this right on my own" she tells him. I leave it up to you, you'll just make me do something else I'll regret" she tells the man as the bell to the shop rings out, announcing a visitor to the small shop.

Walking out into the shop floor, Belle is greeted with the famular figure of Juliet Capulet stood in the middle of the wooden floor, looking less than pleased that she has had to seek out her brother

"Uh Juliet...Can I help you?" Belle asks her friends mother.

"I'm looking for my baby brother." Juliet informs her "You may know him" she blinked at the young brunette in front of her as a tight lipped smirk grew on her lips.

Stepping out from the back, Rumple sets his sight on his elder sister for the first time in decades stood in the Underworlds version of the Pawn Shop with her hands stuffed in the pockets of the leather jacket she was wearing.

"Juliet" he stated seeing his older sister stood in front of him as thier father's warnings rang through his head.

"Hello Rummy" the redhead greets him with a gentle smile before it fell from her face "We need to have a conversation about my daughter".

---

Stood at the threshold of the downstairs bedroom, the redheaded assassin kept a close eye on the sleeping she-wolf as the piece of plaid material remained in her hand as her thoughts drifted back to her disastrous trip to OZ, not thinking it would come to bite her in the ass years later.

At the time she wouldn't have done anything differently, she needed to the information Zelena was only willing on giving if she thought she'd be getting something from it.

At least she now knew why she wanted her so badly. She wanted something her younger sister couldn't have. But she was far from ready to start looking for anything more than a one-time thing. She wasn't ready for it even when she knew deep down she had fallen for the Evil Queen.

A pair of heeled boot's disturbed her thoughts as she looked across from her to find the former Queen making herself comfortable on the doorway with her amr crossed over her chest.

"You looked worried" she observes to out load to the assassin that was met with a raised brow in confusion, she always looked worried "More than usual, I mean" she adds "About this..Dorothy" The former Queen questioned her partner.

"I met her when I traveled to OZ looking for Claudius" the redhead admitted to the woman she loved, knowing she was about to get an earful.

"Ah I remember" she mused to the assassin opposite her "When you slept with my sister" she dryly added with a sarcastic grin.

"I didn't know she was your sister at the time" she tried to defend herself.

"Would it have stopped you?" she asked the redhead with a curious brow, knowing the woman better.

"...No" she slowly admitted which made the former Queen scoff to herself in disgust "What can I say, I have a type apparently" she drawls out flirtatiously sending a wink towards her that was met with a smile like it usually did.

"Would it help my defense if I told it it helped stealing something from her?".

"You did?" she asks the redhead in surprise.

"It was mine to start off with" Amelia adds offhandedly as she saw Ruby starting to stir on the bed. Leaving her partner, the assassin walked over and sat herself next the younger woman gently grasping her shoulder to gently rouse her from her slumber.

Blinking herself awake, Ruby's eye's met a par of green eye's she hadn't seen in months looking back at her with longer red hair sat on her shoulders.

"Hey Little Red" the assassin greeted the younger woman with a gentle smile.

"Amelia?".

"Ruby" Snow voice made she-wolf sit up to see that she was surrounded by her friends from Storybrooke.

Giving Snow the room on the bed, she joined her son's and partner at the foot of the bed as they caught her up to speed of where she had found herself. Remaining on her feet her step-son and partner took a seat on the wooden chest at the end of the bed as Anastasia made herself comfortable in the chair that was still covered next to the bed.

A brief introduction to who she was the to the newly awakened she-wolf on the bed they got down to business

"The Underworld?" she asked the group from where she was sat up in the bed "I don't understand. I used a tracking spell so the cyclone would bring me to Zelena".

"Ruby, she's down here, too" Emma informed from the end of the bed.

"Wait, love" Hook interjected "You came down here looking for Zelena?" Hook asked from closest door.

"Why am I not surprised?" Regina sighed from her place "What did my sister do now?".

"It's my friend, Dorothy. Zelena wanted her magic slippers so that she could get back to her baby".

"What did Zelena do to Dorothy?" Amelia asked the young woman shifting uncomfortably behind her partner.

"You know her?" Hook asked the assassin.

"Long story" she quickly tells the man before getting back to the conversation at hand "What happened?" she pressed the woman in red. Gulping nervously at the assassin's demand Ruby started her story.

"That's why I'm here. I don't know" she started "Dorothy went to face her and just disappeared. Mulan and I looked everywhere, but we couldn't find her" she sighed in disappointment as she turned to her friend next to her "Snow, this is all my fault. None of this would have happened if I hadn't show up in Oz. It's just one more life that I have destroyed because of what I am".

"That is not true, and you know it" Snow told her "Ruby, we'll find out what happened to Dorothy. I promise".

"There's only one way we're gonna do that" Emma spoke up looking towards Regina "It's time to talk to Zelena".

"I'm coming" Regina said as they all headed for the door "I actually thought we were getting somewhere with her".

"When have we ever gotten somewhere with her?" Amelia added as she noticed Snow lagging behind with David.

"Mom?" she heard Tom call out to her as they filed out of the loft "Anything I can help with?".

A small smile grew on her face as she encouraged him to keep moving "No, thanks. I hope you don't mind spending the day with David again. I'd rather you keep as much distance as I can with you and Zelena, until we know what Hades wants with her".

"Its okay" he said with a hint of disappointment in his answer "Maybe we could go to the phone booth later, talk to Leni?" he suggested to her.

"Tom-" she started coming to a stop once they left the building, the other's had gone ahead of them they led Ruby go past before they continued.

"You haven't spoken to her since you sang to her the other night, and Henry's pages proves that she heard you. Let her know you're here".

"That was a one time thing, I-" no one should've found out that she went to the phone booth, she didn't know how to explain it, but all she knew was that she needed to talk to her, or sign in her case. She didn't know what to say, so she sang down the phone instead, the same son her mother sang to her when she was small. It always soothed her, it was special to her.

"Things are a little more complicated when I did that Tom" she tells her son "For starters your Dad wasn't down here with us".

"Isn't that even more of a reason to talk to her?" Tom points out to her "Dad isn't there, she needs to know we haven't forgotten about her".

"I haven't-" she starts only for her son to speak over her.

"I know you miss her. And I know you keep the picture of her in her pocket" he tells her pointing to the pocket in her jacket were the folded piece of paper of sat near her heart.

"Can I think about it?" she offered her teenage son "We need to interrogate a Wicked Witch first, find out what happened to Dorothy".

He couldn't quite believe what he was hearing from his mother at this moment, she wanted to put Ruby and Dorothy over her own daughter. He didn't know why, but there must be a good reason for it. She just wasn't willing to say anything at the moment.

"Sure" he gulps out having to accept her answer, gathering his mother in a warm embrace that was quickly mirrored "Love you" he tells her, keeping her in the warm embrace as long as he could before he would have to leave.

"Love you too" she quietly replies before he pulled himself off to catch up with David, Hook and Henry, heading for the phone booth, leaving her to think about what he had just said. She was running out of excuses not to talk to her baby girl.

---

Sneaking into the Emerald Castle with ease, the redhead smoothly used the the shadows to her advantage in the gold and green colored palace, past the guards that were stationed within it. Letting herself into what she thought was a throne room she was taken aback by the extravagance of the room as she walked the marble flooring that looking exactly like the yellow brick road that brought her to the city itself. walking past tanks of water with bubble swirling inside.

Turning her attention to the stairs her feet took her up the set of stairs, she saw a giant poster that illustrated a monkey with wings on the back wall of an alcove set behind a set of curtains that had been tied open. A machine with dials and glass lite up bulbs, next to a small vanity table with a mirror that reminded her of the one the Queen had in her chambers only to see a small bed sat next to it.

But something in caught her eye as she saw something that shouldn't. Towards the back of the table she saw a silver dagger pommel she knew very well. The eagle beak shaped tip that had been seared into her memories of her father.

She hadn't been able to find the dagger that belonged to her mother ever since she had re-taken Monteriggioni. Romeo kept it on his person align with all the other weapons he hid on him. The dagger being here only meant one thing.

Claudius had been here.

"Who the hell are you?!" a voice behind her made her turn and see a woman in a long black dress that hugged her curves with long red hair pinned to the side of her head with green skin.

Stepping out of the small alcove the assassin stepped on the raised platform to get a better look at the Witch she was supposed to meet, the Wicked Witch of the West made her way up to see the intruder in a long black and red robe withe a hood over their head that obscured their face from full view. But she did see the mess of red hair that sat on her shoulders.

"I have to say" the hooded figure stated to the Witch as they pulled the hood from their head and face to reveal her face to her "You don't look Wicked".

Stopping short of the steps up to the intruder Zelena looked up on the woman that her sister The Evil Queen had taken into her court to help her find her vengeance with Snow White while she found her own, and more recently who she had taken into her bed.

The Black Widow

"I was thinking, pointy hat, long nose with a wart on the tip, but not...this". she went on as she stepped down to meet the Wicked Witch on equal ground bluntly dragging her green eye's up and down the Witch's body before her emerald eye's met her own.

"I can be very wicked when I want to darling" Zelena almost purred back with a toothy smirk that reminded her of the Queen back home "Now tell me, why you're in my home Black Widow".

"Ah so you have heard of me?" she replied as the corner of her lips quirked up in amusement "That'll save us some time" she adds "Rumpelstiltskin sent me here" she tells the Witch in front of her. There would only be one reason why the Dark One would send an assassin to her.

"To kill me? I'm afraid he'll have to do much better than to send an assassin here" the accusation made the assassin smile to herself.

"Honey, if I was here to kill you, we wouldn't be talking right now" she tells the woman in confidence "And you certainly wouldn't have found me. I'm here looking for information on a man that recently came through the realm".

"Who is he to you Widow? A lost love, perhaps?" she teased her with a smile that matching her tone.

"I've already lost my love" she tells the witch "The man I'm looking for needs to answer for what he did to my father with his life and I don't care who I have to go through to get to him" she tells the green skinned witch, just as an idea came to the latter mind.

"Well you came to right place Widow. I'll tell you all that you want, only if do something for me in return".

"What can I do for you when you have everything already?".

"I think I can come up with something dearie" she says with her signature Wicked smile on her lips "Let's discuss a deal over a drink?".

"As long as you don't force me into a dress" she tells the woman not wanting to be dressed and prepped like a doll was when she was presented to the Queen to talk over their deal.

"Deal" she agrees smirk teasing on her lips "Shall we?" she asks the Widow.

"Lead the way" she prompts the Witch before she is lead out of the room. Following behind the woman, the Widow couldn't help but look back to where her father's dagger sat on the vanity table knowing she would take it back before she left this place, once and for all.

---

While the women dealt with Zelena, the men and teenage boys headed to the phone booth that would allow the former Prince to speak to his infant son for his wife and give Tom a chance to talk to his baby sister even if their mother wasn't, he would do it for her.

"Careful, lads" Hook voiced to the pair of teenagers as they neared the phone booth only for the elder of the pair to notice how long it was "Hades has eyes and ears everywhere. We can't trust anyone here".

"Is the line always this long?" Tom asked David. He and his Mom would be waiting an age before they got a chance to talk to Helen.

"It's not a line. Something's wrong." David observed as they saw the figures holding up the line, trying to rip the phone out of the booth. Rushing to the front of the line they found Cruella De Vil holding the door open as a burly men inside was prying the phone that allowed all the souls in the underworld to speak to their loved ones "Hey! What do you think you're doing?" he demands to know out of the villain.

"What does it look like, darling?" Cruella greets the small group of hero's and teenagers that refused to help her escape the Underworld "I'm fulfilling my mayoral responsibilities by supervising some municipal improvements" she tells him before looking towards the burl man in the booth "Get on with it, Claude. Rip it out" she orders.

The man Claude, goes to rip the phone out of the booth only for David to stop him. "No, no, no, no! This is the only chance these people have to contact their loved ones" he argued to the woman.

"Oh, you mean it's your only opportunity to reach out and haunt your infant son" she retorts "Looks like Chisel Chin, Jr. will just have to go to bed without what I can imagine are terribly dull bedtime stories" she drawled.

"Cruella, why are you doing this?" the Prince asks her.

"Is this because I won't write you back to life?" Henry spoke up from next to his brother.

Cruella turned her head to look at the young teen "No, Henry darling. I'm not the one that ordered all the phones to be ripped out down here".

"Hades" Hook easily deduced for the group.

"Well, with all you heroes running around, the place he feels has a little too much hope bubbling up in his realm" she says before looking at Tom.

"Thomas darling" she addresses him with a small smirk "I heard your Daddy is in town. Couldn't handle life without his wife? Or was he running after that aunt of yours nowadays" she taunts him with a smirk playing on her lips.

"What would you know about it anyway?" he asks the woman as he felt the words sting. But he needed to keep that to himself as he clenched his fist to his side.

"Everything darling" she continues seeing as he hadn't quite inherited his mother's thick skin "Even that precious little sister of your's. She won't be hearing her Mommy sing to her every night".

His lesson on taking taunts on the chin hadn't quite been learnt as he flexed his forearm making a midden blade jump from his sheath on his gauntlet, jumping towards the 'Mayor' of the Underbrooke with the blade in full view, Hook quickly wrapped arm arm around his midsection to stop him moving any further towards the villain.

"Tom!" David call out to the novice assassin as he tried to fight his way out of Killian's hold "That's enough!" he firmly tells him. Violence wasn't going to get them anywhere with the woman, but a nerve had been hit that the woman wouldn't be afraid to go for again in the future.

" Don't let her get to you" Hook hastily tells the angry teen as the former takes in a deep breath of air to calm the anger that simmered on the surface of his mind. Force pushing the pirates arm off him with some force as the blade disappeared back into it's gauntlets, making the man in leather wince as the teen made himself turn his back on the woman pushing a frustrated hand through his hair.

"Well, you can tell him it's gonna take a lot more than ripping out phones to discourage us".

"I will" she says taking small step towards him "But in the meantime, if you wanted to strike a deal, I could look the other way while you made one last call. I'm assuming I'd have the author and his pen to write me back to life" she tried to flirt with the married man touching the lapel of his jacket.

Wrenching her hand off him David looked straight at her with conviction "We're not making deals with you" he tells the woman straight.

"Have it your way" Cruella huffed pulling away from the Princes "Do it, Claude" They could do nothing but let the burly man Clause rip the phone out of the booth before walking away with it "Ta-ta, darlings".

---

Her eye's wondered to the scenery around them as they walked up the familiar road up to Zelena's farmhouse. She never took the time just to look around sometimes. The woods reminded her of the one's outside Monteriggioni. She hadn't realized that she had been lagging behind the others looking at the scenery before Ruby suddenly spoke from next to her.

"I see you and Regina are going strong again" Ruby observed out load to the assassin glancing towards the former Queen towards the front of the group "Last time I saw you both things were a little complicated".

The last time she had seen the redheaded assassin was when John had been brought back through the time vortex Emma and Hook and fallen into.

"We are. Despite..everything" Amelia replied "Between dead husbands coming back, Emma becoming the Dark One, having a baby, being possessed by a deity, and being killed more than once. We've made something work".

"Wow I've missed a lot" Ruby said out load before she realized what the assassin had said "Wait, you had a baby?".

"A girl. Remember the dead husband?" Ruby nodded remembering the man that shown up after Emma and Hook returned after travelling through time "That's how" she quickly adds.

"Wow".

"Yeah" she drawled "That's not how I would put it".

"But you were happy right? With Regina? Before…" Before she died she meant.

"As happy a we could be with another villain just around the corner I guess" she answered the woman "Or at least we were, before King Arthur shoved a broken sword into my heart now.." she trailed off her eyes gazing to the back of the former Queen's head "I don't know anymore. She came here to save me, but then I shoved that back in her face when I told her I wanted to move on".

"I'm sorry to hear that" Ruby acknowledged the woman. .

"I was told a thousand times that you only die once as an assassin, and it would be worthy of a place in the great halls of Valhalla. One life. One death. That how it should be right? That's why life is so worth living because it's so short".

"Isn't there anything you can do?" the woman in red asks her making her pause thinking of what her mother was trying to do with Lord Capulet.

"There is, but its not worth the false hope I would give any of them" she made a point of looking at the women ahead of them. Would yet another Piece of Eden be her answer of finding a way out of the Underworld? Seeing the two she had already come across, she wasn't willing to bet anything on it.

"Shouldn't you take that risk? If it means you get to have a life with her?" she says glancing to the the former Queen in front of them "With your kids? If it was me, I'd be doing anything I could to get back to them".

The dark-brunette's words made the redhead smile to herself as they continued down the track towards the farmhouse that was seen by the woman in red straights away.

"What? What's that look for?" Ruby asks her, knowing it was never a good thing when she smiled to herself like that.

"You really worried about Dorothy huh Little Red?" she teases the she-wolf next to her with a knowing look. There was something more going on with the younger woman next to her. She cared more about than she was letting on.

"Don't" she sternly tells the assassin "We're friends" she told the assassin, only for the assassin to look at her with a raised brow "Don't look at me like that".

"I'm not giving you a look. But seeing as we both know how far I've gone in the past to save someone I cared about in the past. You've literally followed the Wicked Witch of the West to the Underworld. That says something Little Red" she finishes with a knowing wink of her eye as they got closer to the farmhouse.

---

As they neared the farmhouse Amelia and Ruby had caught up to the others just as they say Zelena stood outside her home with silver slippers on her feet, that would take her away from them just as they needed to speak to her.

"Regina" the redhead called out to her partner with warning lasing her tone as the Wicked Witch started to click the heals together.

"I see it" the former Queen replied. Waving her hands a purple hue encased the slippers stopping them from moving as her half-sister looks up to see five women she knew approach her "You're not going anywhere, sis" Regina tells them as they walk closer to the Witch.

Zelena exasperates in frustration seeing that her plan to escape the Underworld go up In smoke "How do you expect me to become mother material if you won't leave me be?" the redhead asks as the five 'visitor's encircle her.

"Well, we were planning on it until someone you screwed over literally dropped out of the sky" the former Queen argued.

"And then go on to attack my mother and I in the woods ruining one of my favorite jackets in the process" Amelia added.

"What did you do to Dorothy?" Ruby asked the Wicked Witch outright.

"Zelena, tell us what you did to Dorothy" her younger sister pleaded with her "Fight your instincts and help us. It's the only way you'll ever see your little girl again. Trust me".

"No" Zelena finally answers her "I'm afraid I can't fix this. Even I can't help Dorothy now" she informs the group.

"Why not?" Emma asked her. Huffing in annoyance Zelena conjured a mirror in her hand and showed them an image of Dorothy in her blue and white plaid dress lying on a table, not moving, and with her eyes closed.

"You killed her?" Ruby accused the witch.

"Not quite" Zelena answered before looking at her half-sister "I took a page out of your book, Regina".

"Sleeping curse" the former Queen stated outload.

"You need to wake her up" Ruby demanded out of the witch.

"That's what I'm trying to tell you... I can't" Zelena told her "Dorothy may have the love of the people of Oz, but there's only one thing that could help her now".

"True love's kiss" Amelia answered for the group looking towards the she-wolf.

"No family, unmarried, unloved, all alone. There's no one that can give Dorothy what she needs. I'm afraid sometimes I'm just too clever" she muses to herself as the redheaded assassin looks over to the she-wolf to see the look of despair on her face.

---

While Regina negotiated with her sister inside the farmhouse for the slippers the rest were left on the porch o wait how ever long it took for the former Queen to get the slippers off her sister in various states of worry. As Ruby anxiously paced the length of the wooden porch with Emma and Snow to keep her company, this left the assassins sat together on edge, sat upon the railing together as the redhead looked out into the distance. She had to admit it was nice. Being secluded, quiet, something she herself yearned for years ago. But then fate brought her back to the dark brunette inside instead.

"Have you seen your mother recently?" Anastasia broke the silence between them.

"Not since we were attacked by a werewolf in the middle of the woods. Why'd you ask?" she inquires with her sister.

"I think she's been lying to you. I asked the pirate about Anne Bonny, he said she was a Captain of a ship called the William for years with another man Jack Rackham".

"Rackham?" she questioned her sister hearing the name.

"You know him?" Anastasia asked only for her sister to shake her head at her "A Captain that went by that name came after Romeo while we took a voyage on the Jackdaw. Never knew why" she tells her sister "He tried to board us, but once he saw me he seemed to freeze like he'd seen a ghost" he stopped what he was doing for some reason, it was surreal the way he looked at her before Romeo bundled him into the brig only to let him go again.

"Hook said he was left broken shell of the man he once was when Anne Bonny left with an old love of hers" Anastasia carried on replying Hook's information.

"What are you trying to say?" she asks wanting her sister to cut to the chase.

"Sister, we know there's is only one reason why someone's heart to break like that, you've said it yourself she looks older than you remember her" she says trying to get the redhead to come to the conclusion herself. She needed her to realize that her mother must've left her husband and daughter to continue her life on with another man.

"Wh-" Amelia went to say only for Ruby to interrupt the pair of assassins.

"We have to do something" Ruby said as she yet again passed Amelia and Anastasia once again "I don't see how calm you two are being about this" sending the comment towards the redhead and her blonde adopted sister.

A raised a curious brow grew on both the sister's face at the she-wolfs comment about to retort only to a get a pointed look from Snow, telling them not to answer.

Huffing at the missed opportunity the redhead turned her head to continue looking out into the distance as the blonde assassin kept a look of annoyance on her face as the werewolf continued her anxious pacing "Dorothy is all alone back there. She doesn't have anyone".

"Not for long" Regina interrupted her rant coming back outside with her handbag "These can at least get you back to Oz" she continued as she opened her handbag to take out the silver slippers.

"How did you get her to hand those over to you?" Snow asked the former Queen,

"You're not going to believe me, but all I did was ask" she replied.

"What good are slippers if there is no one back in Oz that can give Dorothy true love's kiss?" Ruby vented to the former Queen.

"Are you sure there isn't anyone?" Snow asked her friend.

"Her family was awful to her. And the only person that she has ever loved was her deceased Aunt Em".

"She may still be here" Emma said "All we have to do is find her" the group went to start their new mission including Anastasia, only to notice that Amelia hadn't moved.

Retreating back to the redheaded assassin, she saw that was more focused on the view than helping Ruby get to Dorothy.

"Well don't let us interrupt your down time dear" Regina told her partner who hadn't said a word "I'd thought you'd be more worried to help your friend".

"I think Ruby's got that down to a 'T' for everyone here" she said standing up from the railing "Anyway I've got bigger fish to fry here so to speak".

"With my sister?" she replied with worry in her voice "Are you sure that's wise?".

"I'm already dead what else can she do to me?" Amelia retorted "This conversation's been drawn out for too long. I thought I might do it with she's in a hospitable mood" she finished with smile "I'll meet you back in town".

"Fine. Just be careful".

"Always" she flashed a smile at the brunette before heading into the farmhouse to face the Wicked Witch with her deal.

---

Stood with the Wicked Witch of the West behind the curtained alcove that held the vanity table and bed, she couldn't help but notice something about the woman opposite her. She seemed familiar, like she had met her before, only she would remember if she ever met a woman with green skin before now. No, it was something she couldn't quite put her finger on, she would have to put a pin in that for the time being though. She needed to make a deal.

"What can I call you?" the Black Widow asked the Wicked Witch as she held her glass of wine in her hand as her curious nature took her to the machines that stood in the small room with various switches and dials she had no idea did "No offence but if I'm going to make a deal with you I think calling you 'Witch' will get me very far with you'".

"It certainly wouldn't" the witch answered her from her seat at her vanity table with her own glass in her hand, watching the assassin "The same goes here dear" she tells the assassin "Or shall I just keep calling you Widow?".

"Amelia" she tells the woman opposite her with a smile pulling up on her lips.

"Zelena" the Wicked Witch introduces herself to the assassin.

"Nice to meet you, Zelena" her name coming from her lips sounded like heaven "Now what can I do for you?".

"I need you and your skill to take care of a small problem of mine".

"What's their name?" Amelia asks her.

"Dorothy. She's been a pain ever since she came here in a tornado, in that time shes tried to kill me and gained the love of the people of OZ for her...heroics" she grimaced out the last word "I simply need her out of the way, preferably dead, while I work on my plan for vengeance".

"What do I get in return?".

"What do you need?".

"An assassin, came through here not so long ago. Claudius. I need to know what he wanted and where he went next".

"And how do you know he came here?".

"The dagger on your vanity" she says glaceing at the sliver blade behind her "It belonged to an old Master of mine before he was killed for treason a few years ago. I don't care that you made a deal with him, all I care about is finding him and making him pay for everything he's ever done to me".

"You want revenge" she mused to the assassin with tight lipped smirk as she saw the darkness that hid behind her eyes. From what she saw she was taken a step towards it, only just though, there was space for the woman to take a dive.

"Justice" she sharply corrected the witch "I want justice for the crime he made against my family and our Brotherhood. His crimes go back decades as he allowed our enemies to grow around us to keep us on our knees, barely surviving, while he and the other's profited off other's suffering".

"My revenge, is being saved for the man that tore my son from my arms and killed my husband and all those that served him in his plan to fulfill a prophesy that doens't exist".

"Hmm" Zelena hummed to herself as she listened to the Widow's story "In that case, if you kill Dorothy for me I'll give you the means to seek your justice and you something else to aide you in your vengeance".

"What?" she curiously asks the witch sensing a bit of deja-vu creeping up in her mind from when she made her deal with the Evil Queen.

"A place with me, here in OZ. Where you serve me while I find my own vengeance against my sister".

"I already serve the Evil Queen and Rumpelstiltskin. And I can't break my contract with the Dark One. No-one can" she gulped out knowing how many people she had already had to find and 'take care' of for going back on a deal with the Dark One. More often then not she was ordered to take them back to his castle where she would leave him to find his payback with them.

"You can carry on with your work with the Dark One, but I wouldn't worry about the Evil Queen for long darling" she confidently tells the assassin.

The redheaded assassin's interest piqued at this. She was talking about going up against one of the most powerful people in the Enchanted Forest.

"How exactly?" the assassin asks the witch "She's one of the most powerful sorceresses I've come across".

"A spell" the witch tells her "One that would allow me to make a correct the Dark One made" the assassin didn't seem interested in whatever she was planning, same went for the Queen. She rarely directly involved herself in her vengeance in Snow White unless the Princess was in any real danger and needed to be moved along, she only accompanied the Queen when it was requested. All she cared about was her own plan.

"I can also give you something she can't give to you" Zelena tells her trying to get her attention back as she stood from the stool to approach the assassin. She knew her sister would never give herself fully over to the woman who clearly had feelings for her. She just needed to turn her head towards her.

"What would that be exactly?" she asks as a curious brow rose on her face as the Witch stood an arm reach away as her face hovered over her's, her nose grazing hers as she was sucked into the witches presence.

"A heart" she whispers into the assassins ear seductively.

"A heart?" she curiously asks the witch as the former pull away from her to face her "And what exactly would I do with a heart?".

"Many..many things. You just have to know what you want and it will simply follow".

"The girl for information. I think I can work with that" the assassin agreed with her demands before closing the distance between their lips to give the witch a searing kiss that took her surprise only to melt into it a second later.

Their glasses of wine long forgotten about, the witch allowed the assassin to back her onto her bed as the green skinned woman pulled and pushed at the robe that separated the assassins skin from her own until she was bare ontop of her to find out what her sister was truly missing out on as she closed the assassin off from her heart. And it was wonderful.

---

Her heeled boot's gently thumped against the hardwood floors of the farmhouse as she let herself into the home to find the Wicked Witch in sat at her kitchen table with her eye's downcast on the glass of amber liquid in her hand with the bottle nearby.

Hearing she still had company the witch scoffed not wanting to continue her conversation with her sister, thinking she had come back to continue their chat.

"For God's sake you have the bloody slipper's what else do you want?" the redheaded witch cursed as she looked up to see Amelia in the doorway of her farmhouse kitchen.

"I thought you could use a drinking buddy" Amelia supplied as she made herself known to the woman sat at the table.

"What do you want?" Zelena demanded out of the Assassin as she made her way into the kitchen to grab another glass to join the Wicket Witch of the West at the table.

"I wanted to chat, and I thought you might oblige since you did chain me up like a dog and kill me in Camelot" the redhead finished off with a tight lipped smirk that flashed on her face before she helped herself to the drink the Wicked Witch was drowning her sorrow's with.

"Fair point" she shrugged "Did my sister tell you about my history with Hades then? Is that why you're here?".

"She might've mentioned something" she answered pouring the drink herself and replenish Zelena's own glass with a drop more "But we're not quite like Snow and Charming yet, there's some things that we keep from each other" she paused as she took a sip of her dink "Just like, when I visited a land called OZ and met a wicked witch" the mention of her made the redheaded witch laugh to herself seeing why the assassin really wanted with her.

"So that's what you want" Zelena started "You want to move on and one of your regrets is little old me. No offence dearie but you're not my type anymore" she told the woman in front of her "When my sister told me you didn't want to come back, I was left a little surprised that you didn't want to get back to your life with her and those annoying children of yours".

"I actually came here to ask you a favor once you return to Storybrooke" Amelia retorted.

"A favor? From me?" she questioned the woman "Juno, must've done a real number on your if you're coming to me for a favor"

"I'm not asking the Wicked Witch for the favor. I'm asking the woman she became as soon as she held her new-born in her arms".

"You don't think I could be a good mother, do you?" she griped at the assassin sat across the table.

"I think the opposite actually" she retorted taking the witch by surprise "I thought the same before I had Tom. I didn't know how to be a mother, I barely had one myself. The closest one I had to one, was the Madam in the brothel I lived in for eighteen years of my life. I let her down so many times I have no idea why she remained by my side while I dug myself deeper in the Widow" she continued.

"I was terrified, that one day they'll look at me one day and see what I see every time I looked in the mirror. Someone that had run at first sign of danger and just kept on going, until one day...one day I would have to stop and be strong enough to fight for them, only to fail".

"Only, to see that exact look on my son's face today when I put Dorothy and you over talking to my daughter" she admitted to the witch as she took a gulp of the amber drink in her glass hoping it would blur out the image of her son's disappointment even if it was temporarily.

"Well" Zelena gulped pushing back her own emotions that nearly bubbled over at the assassin story "That was awfully dreary. Even for you" she commented joining the assassin taking a sip from her glass.

"My favor it about your daughter's father".

"Still angry I got to have something of him you couldn't have" she grinned at the woman oppose her with challenging brow raising on her face.

"How can I be? Since I was the one to stop it from happening" Amelia told her making the grin on her face drop "There was a time, during my darkest days, I was about to give up everything for him. My vengeance, my anger, even Regina. I was close to moving on from what my old family did to me. I wanted to marry him, raise his children, live in a place like this away from everything secluded, quiet, safe".

"Then why didn't you?".

"Because his kind heart betrayed the Widow. At the time, I was looking for the man that hired a pirate to board our ship to take Tom from me, only for the pirate he hired to stop me from going down with the ship as it sunk".

"When I found Robin again and re-connected, he encountered the man that ruined my life and instead of telling me where he was, he let him go into the wind yet again. Rumple naturally told me everything. I hated him for it. I told him hide so I would never find him".

"Why are you telling me all this?".

"Because you would never let any harm to come to him. And I owe him for shutting him out of my life for so long over something like revenge" .

"How did you come to this conclusion then? You don't think my sister will be able to? Or your ex-husband for that matter?".

"I know Robin well enough that he will go out of his way to look out for Regina because I love her. And John" she paused "He'll stay long enough to look after Tom and Helen make sure they're okay, but Storybrooke isn't his home, it never was, as soon as there is a way out, he'll take it like he did last time and Anastasia will follow him. Snow and David have Neal and Emma has Henry and Hook. Which only leaves you, "if I can't get back you need to promise me, you'll make sure he's safe because I don't think I could ever move on knowing he didn't have anyone".

"Do you really trust me with him?" the witch asked the assassin.

"You said it yourself, you have something I don't have with him. I trust you would never allow him to get hurt or killed so that he can see his children grow up. You grew up with a hateful father Zelena, I don't think you'll ever allow your daughter to go without one as loving and kind as Robin".

"And as unbelievable as it sounds I am sorry for what happened in OZ between us. It should've never have gone that far between us. It was always going to be Regina I go back to".

"At least your're right about something".

"So do we have a deal?" she asked the woman holding out her glass towards the witch.

With a smirk Zelena clinked her glass against hers sealing the favor with a smile gracing both their lips as the drunk to their agreement.

---

Despite staying behind at the farmhouse a little longer than she had planned on, the assassin found herself in the diner, sat at the counter waiting for another drink in her hand in the hopes she would run into at least one member of her family on their mission to help Ruby.

"Are you sure you didn't see me coming before I kicked you into that stove?" Amelia asked the blind witch as she poured out a generous amount of amber liquid in a glass in front of her.

Clearly un-amused by the assassin's remarks the witch slammed the glass tumbler half full of amber liquid onto the counter with a thud making her drink slosh out onto the counter top just missing her jacket.

"Hmmm" the witch hummed with a smirk "I bet your son would taste delicious in a nice warm stew. So much muscle in those arms" she grinned at the assassin that killed her back home.

A throaty chuckle left the redhead at the witches comments "Keep going or I'll make that stove felt like a spa day" she said as the bell on the door run out as she felt the arrival of everyone else "Here comes the cavalry" she breathed as Ruby and Snow stopped to her left and Regina took the spot to her right with Emma.

They watched as the blind witch took note on the new arrivals sniffing the air as Amelia took a sip out of her drink. The witch looked straight to Ruby "Sorry. No dogs allowed" she tells the werewolf.

"No one talks to me like that in my diner" the she-wolf warns the witch from across the counter.

"It's not yours, dear, not yet" the witch retorted.

"There's a tombstone in the cemetery" Emma chimes in, changing the subject "Emily Brown. Why don't you make this easy and tell us where to find her?".

Looking uninterested in Emma proposition the witch replies "What do I get out of it?".

"The wolf keeps her cloak on" Regina tells her "Unless you want to start putting your customers on the menu" Ruby goes to take her red cloak off only for the witch across from them to stop her.

"Fine" she relented "I know her".

"Yeah" Amelia prompts the witch "And?".

"Yeah. I hate that Auntie Em" she admits to them.

"Why's that?" Snow asks her.

"She's the competition".

---

Leaving the Wicked Witch in her bed, she hadn't planned on sleeping with the green skinned woman, but if it gain her trust, she would do just about anything to get the information she needed about where Claudius was headed.

Venturing back to the village the Black Widow looked out for the young woman that the Wicked Witch has sent her to kill for information. But a much as she wanted to complete the contract, something didn't feel right. The witch wanted wanted the Queen dead, something about that didn't sit well in her stomach. Sure she didn't care about the woman's revenge against Snow White, but to kill someone as powerful as Regina. No, that wasn't possible. Even she knew it would be stupid to go against her.

The sound of a small dog bark took her out of her thoughts as she found its source in the grey and white dog that belonged to the young woman Zelena wanted dead. Crouching down the assassin reached out to stroke the top of Toto's head as his owner came to find him back with the stranger that had found him earlier.

"Hello Toto" Amelia greets the small dog making his happily wag his tail at her.

"You're back" the younger woman observed seeing the woman that was looking for the Wicked Witch back in the village

"I am" she tells Dorothy as she stood up straight to address the girl "We need to talk".

---

It wasn't a short walk from the diner to the only other diner in town which allowed Regina a chance to catch her partner up with the resent turn of events. Curious how her 'chat' went with her sister.

"So how did your chit chat go with my sister?" the former Queen asked the assassin.

"We're got on the same page for once" Amelia answered her "It was somewhat pleasant. How about you? I gather you went to the cemetery".

"We did" Regina told her "We also learnt that dog breath took down the pay phone on Hades orders" she tried to read the redhead's face only to come up with nothing she stayed still and stoic at the news as they walked behind the others "I know you and Tom were planning on using it".

"Tom wanted to talk to her. Not me" she quickly corrected her.

Her answer only made the Queen more frustrated with the assassin. She was hell bent on moving on, not thinking about what this was doing to Tom. He wanted to have her back at home. But this conversation would have to wait for the couple as they found the other diner in Underbrooke.

---

Returning to the Emerald Castle with evidence of Dorothy's death the Black Widow made her way back to the place where she had left the Wicked Witch to find her sat in at her vanity table with nothing but a silk dressing gown covering her body as her long wild untied hair sat on her shoulders. Hearing footsteps making their way towards her the Wicked Witch of the West looked behind her to see the assassin that had left her asleep after their tryst only an hour ago.

"You left" she grumbles to the assassin.

"Well, I had to keep my end of the deal didn't I?" she says taking out the proof she had of her end of her deal with the witch that she had stuffed into her robe

"What's that?" the Witch asked her seeing a piece of fabric in her hand, standing from her stool the witch met the assassin halfway before snatching the item out from he had to see a piece or torn blue and white plaid that was covered in blood. Her blood.

Meeting the assassin's gaze the Wicked Witch wasn't sure she was seeing correctly "You did it" she almost whispered out in disbelief, that the impossible had happened.

"Why don't take a look for yourself?" she prompts the witch to see her work firsthand. Whirling around the Witch walks back to her vanity, turning her back on the assassin to wave her hand in front of her mirror for the image of Dorothy lying still in an open casket as munchkins surrounded her dead body and her mutt lying by her head whimpering in sadness of his owner's death.

Behind her the assassin reaches into her pocket to grasp the powder in her gloved hand ready to use at the right moment .

"She's dead" she said in awe of the redheaded assassin in her castle.You really did it" she breathed out.

"Told you I would" Amelia replied, the corner of her lips pulling up in a tight smirk. Leaving the mirror the itch quickly closed the distance between them, capturing the assassin's lips in a heated kiss, the Wicked Witch cupping the assassin's head in her hands, to bring her closer only for the woman to pull away from the witch.

"Ah, ah, ah. Now tell me what I need to know".

"Fine. The man you're speaking about did come through here, he traded the blade for a small spell of mine".

"For what exactly?" the assassin questioned her as she made her way into the small alcove.

"He didn't tell me. I thought the trade sufficient enough" she shrugged to the woman.

"Thank you" she suddenly tells the Wicked Witch "For your co-operation. But I'm afraid I won't be able to help you with your vengeance".

"What?"

"You see. One of the things I find most annoying in my line of work is people lying to me, and sweetheart, you've been lying to me ever since you saw me. You know me, more than just being the Black Widow" she narrowed her gaze at the witch as she circled the green-skinned woman "You know the Evil Queen don't you? More than you're letting on".

"So what if I am, it's nothing to do with you" she growled out to the assassin as goes to throw a ball of fire towards the assassin only for the latter to stand completely still as an open target as nothing appears in her hand. Looking at her hand in confusion she goes to summon another one for the same thing to happen, she was powerless.

"Having trouble sweetheart?" the assassin speaks up picking at something in the corner of her lips as a 'skin' lifts off the assassin lips to show the witch what she had done before discarding it onto the floor. She knew the Witch would kiss her again.

She had found a few Brotherhood Codex's that outlined a potion that neutralized a magics users powers for a small amount of time as long as it made contact with their skin. She'd never had a good chance to use it, until now that is.

"Something my Brotherhood has had up their sleeve for a century or so" she informs the Witch "Don't worry you'll get your powers back, but after you've woken up".

"Woken up?" she questions the woman as the assassin takes a few steps towards her as she brings out the hand she had been hiding behind her back to show her the powder that she had made while she was making her plan with Dorothy.

"Found some poppies while I was away. Spoiler warning, I've might've lied about killing Dorothy" the look of rage grew on the Wicked Witches face as she realized what she had done, but she didn't get a chance to try to hurt the assassin as the powder was blown into her face, leaving her stunned for a seconds as she inhaled the particles into her lungs her eye's involuntarily closed as the poppies took hold of it victim as she fell where she stood only for an arm to catch her.

"No one lies to me, sweetheart and get away with it. Goodnight Zelena"" the redheaded assassin tells the unconscious witch as she drag her to her bed, to lay her down to sleep off the effect of the poppy, she used enough for an hour, which gave her enough time to check on Dorothy before leaving the realm for good.

Once the witch was settled the assassin found her father's dagger on the vanity to quickly snatch it off the wooden surface to slip it into her belt. Once secured the assassin turned to leave, calmly sauntering down the steps, past the tanks of bubbles to make her way out of the room and get home for good, hoping he would never have the pleasure of meeting her again in this life or the next.

---

Running as fast as she could from the Emerald Castle, the assassin didn't stop until she returned to the place were the portal had taken her to as she heard high pitched screeching coming from the sky. Looking back she saw creatures with feathered wings and sharp teeth and claws coming straight for her.

Pushing herself faster the screeching got louder as she found the magic been in her pouch before throwing it far in front of her as she thought of the one place she wanted to be. Home.

As the creatures gained on her the portal grew in the ground in front of her as a claw got dangerously close to her shoulder before she diving head first into the portal to take her back home, leaving OZ as quickly as she arrived.

---

Letting themselves into the smaller diner the group were greeted by an elderly woman behind the counter. The diner was really the competition for the blind witch as there were hardly any empty seats or booths

"Welcome to Auntie's" Aunt Em greeted the patrons as she stirred a pot of soup behind her, pouring it into a mug to drink "The potpies are my own family recipe, but we do a good roasted chicken, too. Rotisserie. Any way you want. But the soup, well, the soup is to die for. Unless you're already dead. Then it's, uh... well, you know what I mean".

"We're trying to help Dorothy" Emma interrupts the elderly diner owner making her

"She's not down here, is she?" she asked concerned for her nieces well fair rounded the counter.

"No, she's alive, but she needs your help" Ruby informs her.

"She needs true love's kiss" Emma adds handing her a small bottle "All you need to do is blow a kiss into the bottle".

"Maybe helping Dorothy is your unfinished business" Snow added "Maybe that's why you're down here".

They watched with bated breath as the older woman took the bottle from Emma uncorking it before pursing her lips to blow a kiss only for her hand to start violently shaking as her body quickly turns transparent, like water.

"Oh! What? What? What's happening?" the figure that once was the tangible figure of Aunt Em was now completely water.

"Emma, what did you do?" Snow asked her daughter.

"Somebody help her!" Ruby called out for help as the other patrons in the diner simply watched on from their seats.

"Emma!" Amelia called out to the savior.

"I didn't do anything" Emma insisted to the group as the water like figure continued to call out for help.

"Somebody do something" Ruby called out in desperation only for the water to fall onto the ground into a puddle as the assassin's gawped at what she had just witnessed

"What the f-" the last word died on the blonde assassin's lips as the former Queen interrupted the curse leaving Anastasia's mouth.

"What the hell was that?" the former Queens questions.

"I don't think the soup agreed with her" Hades voice came from a booth behind them, making the group of women turn to see the man himself at a table eating lunch.

"You did this" Emma stated to the God of the Underworld.

"Mm. Guilty" he admits standing up from the booth "A little water from the River of Souls gives the soup a little something... special".

"Why would you hurt her?" Snow spoke up "She was just a sweet old lady".

"Mm. Isn't it obvious? Because you're trying to help her" he answers them.

"And Dorothy, who happens to be Zelena's sworn enemy" Regina guessed "Did she put you up to this?".

"Trust me, she has no idea I'm here, otherwise I wouldn't be stopping at the sweet little old lady" he answers the Queen's guess, before dragging his eye's over to the redheaded assassin behind her stood next to the former Princess "Isn't that right Amelia?".

Staying silent, the assassin simply held his gaze until he turned back to the former Queen "This is about so much more than just your sister" he continued "Let's call it a teachable moment".

"You wouldn't be here unless you were scared we might actually win this fight" the blonde savior points out to the God.

Hades just chuckles at the saviors words "Yes. Is that so, Saviour? Because I don't think Dorothy's dear old aunt would agree with you" he says as he saunters over to a bus boy taking his rag from his shoulder before dropping it on the puddle that was once Aunt Em. Mopping up the puddle he continues to speak as he rings the cloth into an empty jar.

"Citizens of the Underworld, from now on, this is what happens to anyone who deals with these so-called heroes" he announces to the diner "So, who's next in line for their help?" the crowd remains silent as they try to hide from the God "Oh. No? Mm. It's hard to be a savior when no one wants you to save them." he whispers into Emma's ear as he walk past her until he comes to Amelia herself.

"I would be more careful who you choose to help next Widow, otherwise it might be your husband and your son that pay's the price next" he tells the redhead as her jaw visibly and her hand clenches at her side in agitation as her eye's never left the mans as he continued his threat "Let's get this straight, as long as you're down here, you're mine no matter how many souls you sent down to me over the years. This is your only warning" with that the God of the Dead left the diner leaving the assassin to take in his words.

---

Retreating to the diner they needed to plan their next move now that Hades was onto them, while Ruby had stayed outback with Snow as they contemplated what to do next. The former Queen n sat in a maroon booth opposite her love, who hadn't said a word to anyone since the deity's stark warning to her about her continuing to help her family thwart his rule in the Underworld.

But something had been bothering her since the god reveal his plan to help the woman he loved behind her back, by stopping them from freeing Dorothy from her sleeping curse, and it stemmed from the woman sat in front of her. If he knew what happened in OZ between them, then why hasn't the God come after her himself. Why wasn't she imprisoned along with Hook only to be tortured by her old family.

"Something's not adding up, if Hades knows about you and Zelena. Why hasn't he come after you yet?".

"No idea" she gulped out to the former Queen as the latter noticed that the redhead seemed close to tears

"Hey, what's wrong?" she asks the assassin, concern lacing her voice, making the woman meet her gaze for the first time since entering the diner to see

"He's right" she admitted to the Queen as tears gathered in her eyes "I can't help you anymore".

"W-What do you mean?" she asks taken aback by her sudden admission.

Taking a deep breath through her nose, the assassin pulled herself together to say the next few words to the woman she loved.

"I kept my word, Hook's safe. I'm done" reaching into her coat pocket she took the page that Henry had written, illustrating her daughter slamming it down onto the table before she leapt to her feet and headed to the door without looking back the only sound of the bell ringing out and the door slamming. Leaving the diner in silence as Anastasia looked back at the former Queen from the bar to see why her sister had left like she did.

Snatching the page back up the Queen followed the assassin out telling the blonde assassin to stay where she was as she ran up the pathway to see which way the redhead had gone. Catching a flash of her long red hair the former Queen ran down the street with her hands stuffed deep in her jacket pockets

"Melia!" she yelled for the assassin as she started to run after her, but that only made the redhead to pick up speed herself dodging other lost souls as she chased her love down main street to some unknown location

"Where are you going!?" she yelled to the assassin as she followed close behind .

"Back to the place where I should be".

"What the hell down that mean?!" she retorts in confusion.

"It mean' that Ophelia should've never come to find me, even if was the only way to get you and the boys to leave on Cora's boat".

Pushing down the hurt from what she had just said the former Queen continued

"Melia, you don't mean that" she tell the redhead making her stop to turn on the former Queen.

"If it gets you to stop fighting me, then I mean every damn word" she carped at the woman before whirling around to continue her journey back to the Hidden Ones. Her concern for the redhead quickly turned to anger as the former Evil Queen used her magic to throw the assassin into an adjoining alleyway. Catching up to the assassin the former Queen found the woman on the ground

"Seriously?!" the redhead exclaimed at the former Queen from the ground

"So that it? One little threat from Hades and you wanna give up?" she challenged the assassin on the ground.

"It isn't giving up when I already have" she snaps at the woman "I gave up the second Juno had my son on the end of my blade".

"Is that why you won't talk to Helen?" she asks the assassin as forces herself off the ground.

"I don't wanted to talk to her because it's too hard. Having you all down here is too hard. You think it's easy having you all here telling me that there's a way to go back to how things were before Camelot? To remind me that I failed?" she gulped out "That I died, only to give my Uncle more power?" All because I could't beat the voice in my head that told me that I needed to teach Emma a lesson?".

"I wanted to hurt everyone Regina, I didn't care who I had to send down here to make her suffer for freeing Juno. That voice is more terrifying than anything my old family or Hades could ever do to me down here".

"So you'd just abandon your daughter? Your children?".

The wording made a shaky smile grow on the redheads lips for a second or two before if fell leaving behind the pain the assassin felt in her heart.

"Why should I be any different to any of the Stilskin's?" she questions the former Queen "We always abandon our kids. Malcolm did, Rumple did it to Neal, hell, even my own mother did it" she angrily tells the former Queen "She left and found a new life, leaving me behind with monsters that broke me, again, and again, and again".

"Because that's what we'll always do; what's best for ourselves. I don't want to go back to my daughter because I don't want her to see me as a damn coward. If you don't realize that, than you don't really know me as well you think you do".

"No" Regina starts "I know you better. You are not a coward" the Queen tells her has she "If anything I'm the coward for letting Swan take you away. I couldn't face losing you again after watching Arthur kill you. For that, I'am so sorry Melia, for not stopping her, because I wasn't ready to say goodbye. But like it or not, you're stuck with me and our family no matter what you do or say otherwise, because we love you that much".

"We will never be ready to say goodbye to you, and I don't think you're ready to say goodbye to your life in Storybrooke".

With hands on her hips the redheaded assassin stares at her love, knowing she couldn't tell the woman she loved the truth about the deity that still lived in her head, that would never leave her no matter how much she pushed her away to the back of her mind, to keep her humanity anchored to the ground from the pain she felt every time she felt the edge of the sharp blade cutting into her skin. Instead she needed to use a different method of keeping the deity at bay.

Breaking her gaze from the woman in front of her the slowly nodded, admitting to the Queen and to herself that she wasn't ready to give up on her life just yet. A breath of relief left the Queen's lips as she approached the assassin winding her arms around the woman's body as she allowed the former Queen to hold her together the pieces that threatened to fall apart as she wound her arms around the woman that would never let her give up.

She just had to find a way to finish Juno off once and for all, even if she had make a deal with the devil himself to do that.

---

Meeting up with David, Hook and the boys in the cemetery, the group of hero's and former villains gathered around the cracked headstone of Emily Prown, or Aunt Em as Ruby placed the piece of torn blue and white fabric from Dorothy's dress on the headstone, with the former assassin's hand tightly clasped in Regina's

"Whew. Ready" Ruby tells them as she turns to face her friends ready to save the woman she loved. Amelia's intuition had been right after all. She knew the feeling best out of all them after all.

Pulling out of her love's hold the former Queen approached the she-wolf taking the silver slippers from her bag to give to the she-wolf who took them gratefully.

"Put these one" Regina tells her "Think of where you want to go. Then click your heels three times" she instructs the werewolf before looking back at former Prince "David, you should take her hand and hold tight".

"So, I guess this is goodbye" David says to his wife with a light laugh his wife engulfed in a loving hugs as Amelia stepped away from the heartfelt goodbyes knowing she would have her chance to say goodbye to her friend to join her love, she wasn't sure if she would see the former Prince again, but she would to do her best to be there for Snow once he had returned to Storybrooke.

"We have done this before, we can do it again" he told her as the pair separated.

"When you get home, tell Neal that I will be there as fast as I can" Snow tells her husband.

"Well, I was actually hoping that you could tell him that for me" he retorted.

"David, you know I can't leave" she painfully reminds him.

"Now you can" he tells her.

"What?".

"I removed your name from the headstone" Hook informed the couple from his place next to Emma.

"Am I missing something? Emma already tried that" Regina spoke up.

"Yeah, and it didn't work. Because you tried to erase the names" David told them as he started to gently tug his wide to the set of headstones that trapped his wife in the Underworld "The rule down here is simple... a life for a life. So, I traded mine for yours".

Following the other's to the set of headstones to see that David Nolan had been scratched into Snow's headstone. Her's having been scratched out.

"David! No, no" Snow started to panic as David quickly turns her around to face him.

"If one of us gets to go home and see our son, it should be you" David told his wife.

"How did you know to do this?" Emma asked the pirate.

"Simple, love. Hades overlooked one thing during my escape... he enchanted my hand to carve these markers in the first place. I can't erase the names, but I can change them".

"Come on. Our boy waits for you" David tells his wife.

"Um... I was ready for you to go" she tells him.

"No, it's better this way. You can look after him, and if Storybrooke's in trouble, there's no better leader than Snow White".

"You sure?" she breathed out.

"Go to our son. Go home. I'll be back before you know it" he promises her as the redheaded assassin had to quickly compose herself. She would have to goodbye to someone she

"Mom" the savior steps towards her mother to say her goodbyes. I'm not very good at goodbyes" the blonde tells her mother.

"I know" she tells her daughter as the hug goodbye "It runs in the family".

Pulling out of the hug the younger pixie haired woman looks towards the redhead knowing it would be the last time she would see her friend before she would move on from the Underworld for good.

Tears came to her eye's as knowing she would have to say goodbye to the woman that always had her back

"Don't you dare cry for me Snow White, not now, not ever" Amelia firmly tells the younger woman, which was replied with a light chuckle as the former Princess held back the tears to say goodbye to her friend.

"While you're up there, will look in on Roland for Robin I know he'd want me to ask you that" Nodding Snow step's forward and engulfs the redhead in a hug which was readily accepts, holding the former Princess as tight as she could.

"Of course" Snow muffled out into her shoulder feeling the woman nod "Tell him not to worry".

Pulling out of the hug, the assassin kept her friend at arms length with both her hands on her shoulders as she looked upon the woman the girl she had saved all those years ago turn into. As Snow looked upon the woman she had looked up to her whole life turn her life around to die a hero instead of the villain she had turned herself into the cope with the hurt and loss she had felt.

"If you get a second, could you look in on my girl for me. Tell her.. tell her I miss her" she asks her friend.

"I will" she tell's her.

"Now go before I force you" nodding Snow turns to her husband leaning up to give him one last kiss goodbye before she joined her friend.

"Ready?" Snow asks her taking her best friends hand.

"Let's go find Dorothy" Ruby replied lifting the skirt of her dress to free her feet to tap her shoes together to take them to OZ then onto Storybrooke.

Only Amelia's eye's drifted over to her son as a thought comes to her mind as it recalled her conversation with him that morning. She wanted to talk to her daughter again, she really did. But she couldn't give either of them hope there was a chance of her coming back home, however impossible it seemed.

Helen was young enough to forget about her. A blip in her memory that will fade away with time. But Tom, that was a different story.

She knew what it was like to lose a parent, it stung that she couldn't do anything to help him. And that sting ignited into a raging fire that destroyed everything in its wake. She would have to make him let go of her. Like Romeo did for her. Otherwise he'd be spending the rest of his life after something he wouldn't be able to achieve,

"Wait!" the sudden shout came from Amelia as they looked at her at her sudden outburst as Ruby was about to click for the third time making her freeze at look at the assassin in confusion and concern.

"Lia?" "Mom?" Snow and Tom said as she released what she had just done. She had spoken faster than she had thought. Caught like a dear in headlights she had to go through with what she needed to happen. Stepping forward to quietly speak to Ruby and Snow, both woman listened closely listened to what she needed them to do for her.

"Do you know whats going on?" Emma asked her boyfriend as she watched her friend stop her mother from leaving.

"No clue luv" he answered, clenching his jaw as the trio continued to converse.

"Two you can all go" the other's heard Amelia tell the pair. Slowly Ruby and Snow seemed to understand and nod along to the redhead's request.

Turning to find her son stood next to his best friend and step-mother, a watery smile grew on her face as she felt her chest tighten in her chest from having to hurt him to help him in the long run.

"Tom" she called for her son holding out a hand towards him to take. Taking her hand the teen step forward to stand in front of his mother as she grasps is other free hand in hers seeing dark leather gauntlets that she once saw on her fathers arms.

"Mom what's wrong? Your hands are shaking " Tom asked her as he saw how upset she look as she failed to hide the pain of what she was doing from her face as her hands shook from

"Nothing's wrong, okay" she started taking in a calming breath "In fact, everything's going to be okay as long as you do as I ask".

"What is it?" he eagerly asks her wanting to stop her from being so upset.

"I need you to go with them" she makes herself say in one breath as the dams in her eye's break feeling the first of probably many tars trailed down her face.

"What?" he replied in shock.

"You were right this morning, things are complicated now. Helen has no-one to look out for her while you're Dad and I are down here. But there is someone that can be there for her. You "she simply tells him "You can go back and watch over her while we figure out everything down here. You can protect her better than I could ever protect the both of you".

"Yes you can!" he argued to his mother "You'll always protected us, because that what hero's do".

"No I can't" she gently tells him shaking her head at him "Not anymore. I died Tom" she reminded him making a tear fall from her son's eye to wipe it away with her thumb "To save my family. To save you and Helen. But you can't be here anymore my love, not while you could be stuck down here like the rest of us. And I can't ask you to stay any longer than you already have. I'm sending you home where I know you'll be safe".

"No, no please don't make me go" he sobbed to his mother as he gripped her arms in hands like she was going to disappear the second he let go of her, same way she held onto Romeo's hand as he lied dying in the Jolly Roger.

"I need you to be brave for me and let me go" at her words he stopped shaking his head and looked up at her with red eye's "You need to let me go" she gulped seeing his heart break throught his eyes.

"I- I can't" he stammered not realizing that she was gently guiding the teenager back until he was stood next to Ruby.

"Yes, you can" she tells him "All you have to do is hold on as tight as you can, and not let go" she told him as just his hand into Ruby's waiting one "Snow's going to take good care of you both until your Dad can get back, okay?".

"Okay" he relented through the pain of having to leave his Mom in the Underworld, bending his head forwards he let her place a loving kiss on his forehead as fat tears let her closed eye's resting her head on her's.

"Sei un Montecchi. You must be strong. Non dimenticarlo mai"(You are a Montague) (Never forget that). "I love you, so much"

Taking a sharp breath through his nose, the her son nodded through his emotions

"I love you too Mom" he replied through the tears that fell from his eye's.

Giving her son a watery smile, she let go of her son's head and took a step back as she found Davids hand waiting her to take, to watch their loved one's leave the Underworld for good., one out of necessity to look after their infant son and the other to protect their son from any harm the God of the Underworld could inflict him with to punish his mother.

Holding his head up, with is shoulders held back, Tom met his mother's gaze as Ruby clicked the slippers three times, white smoke engulfing the trio and in a blink of an eye. They were gone.

He was safe now.

---

OZ

Present

He had only seen True Love kiss once before when his Dad had been spelled by Ingrid, but it was different when it was used on a sleeping curse. He felt the light magic move through him as it burst from Ruby and Dorothy's kiss. But that didn't make him feel any better for going home when his Mom still needed his help. Seeing the uneasiness in the teens eye's Snow tried her best to reassure him, she rested her hand on his elbow to get him to look at her.

"She did the right thing you know" Snow told him knowing why her friend had to make the difficult decision of letting her son go "Hades made a move she had to match".

"I know" he nodded to the former princess feeling his throat dry "She'll come back, I have faith in her" he tells the former Princess as he watched Ruby and Dorothy reunite after being separated by a sleeping curse.

Giving the teen a tight-lipped smile the former Princess saw the look his mother wore on her face whenever she was hiding how she was feeling "Come on" her voice brought him out of his thought for a second or two "Let's go home".

---

Storybrooke

It felt surreal to back in the land of the living after spending the last few day's in the Underworld's version on the quiet town. Sat outside of Granny's the novice assassin squinted at the bright sunlight, not used to its usual brightness as he caught up with MJ as his baby sister sat in her car seat on the table with Snow and Neal nearby.

"So, the Underworld is just like Storybrooke?" MJ asked her boyfriend as she watch him gently rock his baby sister in his seat while he took a sip of his lemonade in the other.

"No, I don't think so" he answered her placing the chilled glass on the table "Regina didn't really explain it to us why it was like that".

"And your Mom?" she gently broached the subject.

"She says she wants to move on, the Apprentice told me she would change her mind though".

"Do you believe him?" she asked him with a raised brow.

"I do" he tells her in confidence "Because I believe she will too" he said a large toothy grin grew on his face he picked up his little sister and place her on his knee to hold her under her shoulders, perching her on the end of his knee as her curious green eyes flicker between the two blurred figures in front of her making her smile recognizing the one holding her safe in his hands, seeing more of their mother in her face day by day.

"In the meantime, we just need to wait and have some fun before she comes back, because when she comes back nothing is going to stop her from ever leaving us again, not for a long time at least".

---

There was defiantly is no place like home.

The Enchanted Forest came as a warm welcome as the assassin found herself back under the lush green forest leaves that hung over her head and the welcoming smell of fresh air filling her lungs, feeling the rich soil in between her fingers as she rolled the dirt in her hands, her ears filled with the sounds of the leaves over her rustling in the wind and the birds voices fluttered through the air. It was good to be home.

Making her way into her chamber is the Evil Queen's palace, the redheaded assassin couldn't wait to get in the bath and get the green skinned witches touch off her skin, pulling her dark robe off her shoulders and arms, letting it fall onto the floor behind her. Everything that the Wicked Witch touched was going to get burnt anyway, she didn't want a reminder of the woman anytime soon.

Walking up to her own vanity table, the assassin pulled out the silver dagger she had stolen back from the Wicked Witch to place form her waist to look upon the weapon that never left her father's hip. Despite its age, the silver wing shaped reign guard still shined in the light as she closely examines the perfectly balanced dagger in her hands. Only to realize, she didn't know what to do with it. There was no place on her robe or weapons belt for it. Jame's wasn't alive to use it on him, it was useless to her.

She didn't need it. She had other dagger's that were lighter to wield against her enemies. It would only stay with here or the villa as something of sentimental value having come from her parents.

"There you are" the Queen's voice floated to her from behind her dressing screen "The mirror had told me you were back" she went on as she made her way into the assassin's room without her invitation "How was your trip?".

"Dead-end" she informs the Queen as she continued to dismantle the near endless pieces off her body one by one until she only left in the loose blouse and leather pants.

"Hmmm" she heard the Queen hum "You seem to be getting a lot of those recently" she mused to the assassin out loud.

"Same could be said about you, Your Majesty" she drawled out, walking out from her dressing screen she finds the woman Queen stood in front of her lit fireplace "Tell me, in the time I've been away have you somehow managed to capture Snow White and is now awaiting her execution in one of your cells at the moment".

"No" she pouts to the assassin, knowing she was right. Again. "I haven't" she admits to the woman.

"I rest my case then" she retorts walking out to join the Queen at the fireplace to throw in another log, feeling the chill of the evening seep into her skin.

"Did you find out anything at least?" she ask the woman in front of her.

Pausing the assassin thought about what the Wicked Witch had told her. That she was going to correct a mistake Rumple had made a long time ago. She had no idea what that meant, but it was impossible to change the past, not even the Brotherhood or Rumple knew how to turn back time itself. No- one did. Which meant she wasn't a threat.

"No" she answered the Queen "Nothing to be worried about at all" she concluded to the Queen. The Wicked Witch lacked conviction. If she wanted Dorothy dead, she would be dead years ago, not hired her to do her dirty work.

"Good" Regina chimed to the assassin as a smile played on her lips knowing the assassin knew best.

"Now, unless you want to join me in a bath, you should make yourself scarce" she tells the Queen changing the subject.

"You do smell like forest" she grimaces at the redhead..

"And you stink of your perfume" she retorts catching a its scent in her nose. The sweet smell came as a welcome relief to the one she hoped the Queen didn't smell on her.

A challenging brow grew on the Queen's face as she stepped towards the assassin entering her personal space as the assassin stood her ground

"I thought you liked my perfume?" she the assassin

"Mmmh,only when it's the only thing you're wearing, Your Majesty" she corrects her as the a smile pulls up on the Queen's face that told her everything she needed to know.

"Then I better change that shall I?" she says inching closer to kiss her only for the assassin to pull away from her. A look of hurt flashed on her features as she looked to the woman refusing her.

"Another night?" she suggested to the woman, wanting to get the Wicked Witch off her skin before spending an evening with the Queen "I still smell like forest right?" she quickly covers herself as the look of hurt softens on the brunette's face.

"Exactly" the Queen agreed only to catch an unfamiliar scent mixed in the forest scent she usually carried with her.

"New perfume dear?" she asks her, knowing she'd been with someone else, that wasn't her. But she couldn't get possessive, it's not like they were married, what they had was..chemistry. A mutual attraction that went both ways, that they both took advantage of, but why couldn't she stop her heart skipping a beat thinking the assassin with another person like that. Was it love? Lust? She needed to know as she felt a ball of jealousy in the pit of her stomach starting to grow. Find out who they were and kill them before they could take her away from her.

"Not one I'd use again. Too bitter" the assassin tells her. Feeling the ball in her stomach lessen.

Seemingly happy with her answer, the corner of her lips quirked up seeing that she didn't have competition for the time being.

"I better leave you then", turning to leave, the assassin watched the Queen leave as she saw the dagger on her vanity table an idea coming to her mind.

"It's your birthday soon isn't it?"she suddenly asked the Queen making her stop at the door to look back at the sudden question.

"It is" the Queen confirms "Why do you ask?".

"No reason" she shrugs at the Queen "Goodnight Queenie" she finished with a wink of her eye.

"Goodnight...Melia" she says before letting herself out to leave the assassin alone.

---

Returning to the loft after seeing Snow, Ruby and Tom off with the silver slippers, the extended family headed to the apartment for some down time. As soon as the assassin stepped into the loft, she found the Underworlds story book without as much as a word, taking it into the down stairs bedroom to find the story she need to know if she had any chance to trusting her mother ever again.

Sending Anastasia to find John, she left it up to her sister to tell him about sending Tom back home. He wouldn't be happy, he didn't get a chance to see his son off but they didn't have time to find him and explain her last second decision. Tom needed to leave.

While David sat at the breakfast bar thinking over his decision to take his wife's place in the Underworld no that they could speak to him int he phone booth, and Henry had run upstairs leaving the other's to sit around the table after the day's events.

"After what Hades did, we have to hit back and hard" Emma said as she made her way out of the kitchen walking past her father to make her way to join Hook and Regina.

"Aye, love, but how?" Hook asked Emma "Our only weapon doesn't look so sharp these days" his eye's wandered to Amelia sat in the downstairs bedroom with the Underworlds version of the storybook in her lap.

"Has she said anything to you Regina?" Emma asked the former Queen sat at the table. Maybe she had come clean about Juno's presence in her head.

"I think I made a breakthrough today" she tells the pair let out a deep sigh as she looks over to her love in the bedroom "Although she say something I don't quite understand yet".

"What?".

"I asked her why she thought abandoning her children was the best for them. She just laughed it off, and said that all the Stilskin's abandon their children, like her grandfather, Rumple did, why should she be any different? Only she included Juliet in that list" she blinked at the couple with her.

"Juliet?" Hooks gaped at the Queen "She died when Amelia was young though, its hardly the same".

"I thought so too" she replied "But I guess us looking into Anne Bonny has uncovered a lot more mess than we first thought" she mused to the pair.

"Wait, Juliet is Anne?" Hook interrupted the pair needed to clarify his confusion.

"Yeah" Emma answered "Why?. Did you know her?".

Looking around to the assassin in the bedroom he knew what she was about to find out about her mother, he couldn't help but feel for the woman that was finding out after all these years that she had been abandoned like he had been, only she only had the Brotherhood to pick her up and consume her of everything she was to be spat out again. But she was a different person to the one he first met on the Godspeed all those years ago before turning back to answer his love's question.

"I heard of her, she Captained a ship with a mate of mine for nearly a decade. Heard she run off with an old love of hers and then nothing".

"You think Juliet really left her and Romeo" the blonde stated out loud "Aren't they supposed to be like True Loves or something?".

"Maybe being a Star-Crossed Lover is different from being True Loves" the former Queen theorized "It certainly explains her colorful alias" she comments further.

"What can we do?" Emma asks her feeling useless as her friends finds out the truth about her mother.

"Nothing" the former Queen tells them "There's nothing we can do" she says as footsteps come down the metal staircase to see Henry go straight to his Grandfather with the new pages he had just written.

"Grandpa. I thought you'd like to see the latest" Henry tells him, handing him the pages the former Princes looked through them to see one of Ruby and Dorothy, one of Snow and Neal outside Granny's and the other of Tom, MJ and little Helen in his arms "Grandma and Tom made it back, to Storybrooke".

Looking to his grandson with a relieved smile on his face seeing wife and son together again "Thanks, kid. Now let's go figure out how to join them" he tells him standing up from the stool and making their way over to the table.

"What is it?" Emma asked her father seeing him and Henry join them.

"Snow... she made it" David tells his daughter handing her the pages. Taking the pictures for herself she turned the one of Tom and Helen towards Regina to see that her step-son had safely made it back to his sister.

"This is great kid" Emma tells her son "but maybe you should be showing these to someone else first" she tells him jerking her head towards the woman in the bedroom nose deep in the story book.

"Will do" he says taking the hint to show them to the redhead in the bedroom.

---

She couldn't quite believe what she was reading, but at the same time, it all made sense somehow. The story that was told answered the questions she ever had about her mother and how she really died.

She had left Monteriggioni, Romeo and her behind to find a new life where she wasn't a prisoner in her own home, where she wouldn't be killed the second someone fund out who she really was. Even she could understand that.

But she didn't understand why Romeo had lied to her for all those years. Sure it hurt to find out your wife had left, but to make her think she was dead was something else.

She remembered like it was yesterday whens he saw the redheaded woman on the Jackdaw looking at her, she felt a pull in her gut to ask more questions about who the woman was to Romeo. and then for her father to kill her in the end. She wasn't sure what hurt more in that moment. Her mother leaving them or finding out Romeo was the one to kill her. But the voice in her head, the one she had been trying to ignore since she had woken up in the Underworld just confirming the story on the pages.

"Mom" Henry's voice caught her deep in her thoughts, quickly closing the book on her mother's story to quickly wipe away the tears had left her eye's the assassin looked up to see her step-son stood there with pages in his hands.

"Hey" she greets him seeing him with storybook pages in his hand "Those new pages?".

"Yeah, have a look" he says handing her the picture as he took a seat next to her. Taking the pictures from him they blocked the view of the picture of her mother in their shared room in the bordello with a bag in her hand and herself sleeping in her cot in the background, being confronted by Paola to see the image of Ruby waking Dorothy up from her sleeping curse, to Snow holding baby Neal in her arms to another of Tom sat with MJ outside of Granny's with Helen in his arms.

"They're back" she states, her voice involuntarily breaking at the relief the washed over her body seeing his safe in Storybrooke again before looking to her son next to her "Thank you".

"Your Welcome Mom" he tells her as a look of guilt comes over her.

"We haven't really had a minute to talk about everything have we? Just us that is".

"No" he somberly admits "But that's okay, you've had other things to worry about".

"No its not" she retorts "I must be hard for you to hear that I wanted to move on" she tells him.

"It was, but it's what you want, right?" he asks her.

"Right" she states knowing she was lying through her teeth "I'm sorry you didn't get a chance to say goodbye to Tom. You need to understand why I had to send him back, I couldn't risk Hades adding his name to a headstone. You have to know I wasn't planning on sending him back until Ruby and Snow were about to leave".

"Thanks Mom, And I know you're only doing what you thought was best for him".

"I'm also sorry Operation Red Apple isn't working how you thought it would be, but would it help if I told you I already found a ring before we left for Camelot?".

"You did?" he asked excitement lacing his voice.

"Yeah" she says with a watery grim "It was my mothers. Our midnight conversation me thinking" she admitted to him "I wasn't planning on asking, but it made me go and find it, and when I saw it. I knew that one day, I was going to use it when the time was right. I was even tempted to just do it in the middle in the ball in Camelot when I saw her".

"Operation Red Apple isn't over Mom. You're still here and as long as you haven't moved on yet Operation Red Apple is still one of my top priorities".

"Thank you. For everything" she says before engulfing him a warm embrace that was quickly mirrored by the young teen. Letting herself enjoy the hug the assassin was the first one to pull away to cup his face in her hand "Come on, there's something I need to tell you guys".

---

Leaving the bedroom with Henry she quietly told him to take a seat with the other's as she approached the table with the storybook in her hands.

"Hey. Are you okay?" Emma asks the redhead as she makes her way towards them.

"I will be" she says placing the book on the table "Once I tell you all something".

"Oh? What is it?" the former Queen asks her loved from her seat.

"The other day when you all went to the cemetery and to find your sister. Juliet took me to speak to her father".

"Pan?" Hook asked in concern.

"No. Lord Capulet. The Templar Orders former Grand Master. Anyway, she was looking for something that could be used to make it back home without taking half of someone's heart".

"Wait? What? "What is it?" the four in front of her all chorused in unison.

"It won't be easy" she tried to warn them.

"I think I speak for everyone here when I say that nothing, we do is easy" David spoke up from the table "But if it gets you back home, we'll do it".

"Aye I'm with the Prince on this one, whatever it takes Montague" the pirate sends her a wink of support.

"Well, what is it?" Henry asked the assassin excitedly.

Taking a deep breath to steadied herself to tell her family the painful truth "It's called the Shroud of Eden. It's another Piece of Eden. Juliet thinks I may be able to use it to fool the ferryman into thinking I was a living person and let me come back to life in Storybrooke".

She saw her family's jaw slacken except for Emma's at the name that continued to be a bane of her existence.

They remembered what the last piece did to her. what they always did to her and now it was the only thing that could take her home to her children. The words that came from the pirates mouth best summed up what kind of situation they were in

"Bloody Hell".

---

AN: We made it!

Hope you enjoyed this chapter and the flashbacks to what happened in OZ. Temporary goodbye to Tom in this chapter. Going forward I couldn't really see him having as much involvement in events as the Underworld story line starts to wrap up (Just pretend Tom Holland was needed to film Spiderman and had to be written out for a few episodes LOL)

End of the chapter cues up the next so to speak. Going to try and get the next chapter of POEM out before that.

Anyway, I hope you are all well, happy and healthy in these concerning times.

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