Warning for character death but can promise a happy ending for SQ! Please let me know if you would be interested in reading more :)
Chapter One
There was a problem with being a hero; they never really had a plan as Regina Mills discovered in the Underworld.
Only a few years ago, she was perfectly content in the vapid serenity of her cursed town but the yellow death trap on wheels changed that or, more specifically, its owner did.
Now she found herself willingly descending into hell (or a version of it) to help in protecting her family, a family that inexplicably included Snow White of all people.
After a week of struggling through Hades' deceptions, which included Rumplestiltskin willingly stepping into the soul-destroying water in order to void the contract for his second child's life, they, at last, had Hook back.
Their merry band were together but the problem presented itself when they attempted to split the heart.
Regina gritted her teeth through the exercise, unsure whether she wanted it to work or not. On the one hand, it would mean that they could move on to find a way home, but on the other, Emma Swan would have a verified True Love comparable to Snow White and Prince Charming.
After losing her supposed soulmate to time travel shenanigans, there had seemed to be a chance but it was becoming increasingly clear that she was right about villains and happy endings, something that was becoming crystal clear the longer she watched Henry's other mother be with someone else.
To her shame, she felt a great deal of hope upon Hook's rejection of the heart fragment and she rushed to return the entire organ to the saviour. Of course, Hades had to appear to dash the temporary elation with news that it had more to do with Hook's body than the validity of their True Love.
Regina felt Henry's gaze squarely on her as Emma said, "We'll find another way to defeat you and get us all home."
Hades laughed in a huff and David did his usual charming move of stepping in front of the group even before the god did anything.
Hades, though, had his attention stolen by Henry's gaze and something seemed to dawn on him, something that he found to be incredibly amusing.
"I'll tell you what, there is no need for you heroes to find another option," he announced.
"What are you talking about?" Emma demanded with a hint of that fire that Regina missed so much from before the Dark One's crisis.
"There is a ship waiting for you, you can all go. I'll even let the pirate go with you, no need to share a heart, saviour," Hades said as if he was making a genial offer.
"Why would you do that?" David asked and Regina had to look away as Emma touched the pirate's annoying revealed chest.
"Because I do have one condition."
"Which is?" Emma said tightly and apprehensively.
"You can only take him if he is really your True Love," Hades replied, clasping his hands together, satisfied by Henry's gasp and the resistant frowns of the elder Charmings.
Regina was going for passive doubt as Emma took the pirate's hand and said, "Let's go then."
"Hang on!" Henry said forcefully, "What if it isn't?"
Regina's eyes widened and she hissed, "Henry!"
Emma also inspected their son, but Hades replied to stop any further admonishment, "It would appear that at least one of you is in possession of some rationality."
Emma's shoulders slumped and she asked, "Okay, what if he isn't?"
"Then I will take your actual True Love as payment," Hades replied, grinning broadly.
"You can't!" Henry shouted only backing down as Regina draped her hand over his shoulder to stop him from stepping towards the god who appeared to be having far too much fun with the group of mortals who had been thorns in his immortal side.
"Kid, it's okay," Emma said, pulling Killian over and refusing to look at Hades, "Hook's my True Love, he's just trying to rattle us."
Emma continued on, followed by her parents soon after but Henry remained rooted until Regina slipped her arm through his and led him forward after narrowing her eyes at Hades and his knowing smile.
Emma was right, he was just trying to get to them, and seed doubt in their group. There was no way that the deal could suggest what she thought, not when it had to go both ways.
Henry dragged his feet all along Main Street of Underbrooke so that the others made significant progress. It meant that they were out of earshot when Henry spoke, at last, just shy of the boat ahead of them.
"She can't do this," he said desperately.
Regina had to resist sighing, it came from a place of caring even if she wasn't sure how much of it was related to his disdain for his other mother's one-handed boyfriend.
"She is certain, Henry, you know that your mother would never leave him down here," she insisted, glancing over to check if the others had noticed their stalled pace. It might get her out of this discussion.
It wasn't the first time the topic had come up, unfortunately, so Henry replied as she suspected he would, "Only because she doesn't know that there is a better option."
Regina sighed despite the sweetness of the statement, it wasn't one that he would have made a while ago, this was hardly the place for the argument though not with Emma so close.
How mortifying would it be if she found out?
They would sail awkwardly back to Storybrooke with the pirate alive and aware of how the mayor felt about his girlfriend.
Her friendship with the saviour would implode and then how long would it be until her family was just her and Henry again?
No, she wouldn't let Hades trick them into that because Hades thought it to be an amusing punishment.
"Henry, I understand that the notion of your mothers being together is appealing but that doesn't mean that it will happen," she said as gently as possible.
"But you do love her?" Henry pressed urgently.
Regina thinned her lips, resenting her personal vow to never again lie to her son.
"I shouldn't have told you, it was a moment of weakness and I'm sorry if I confused you, but Emma has decided who she wants to be with," Regina replied, failing to hide her resentment.
Henry shook his head hard, clearly afraid, "Please, just tell her before we get to the boat? I have a bad feeling about this."
"And what is it that would make you think that the saviour is supposed to be with the Evil Queen?" Regina bargained, though she knew that line of argument would have appealed more to her son if he was still ten years old.
He proved her right with a quick and passionate response, "It makes more sense than her being with Captain Hook!"
Regina opened and closed her mouth, unsure what to say to that. The Truest Believer was sure so who was she to say that he was wrong?
Thankfully, Emma saved her from having to think of anything to convince him, "Regina? Henry? Come on, let's get out of here!"
Regina found the saviour pointing eagerly at Charon's boat.
How could she tell that excited woman that she shouldn't take the opportunity to take her boyfriend home to put an end to the cycle of grief that she had been enduring?
Henry pulled her to a stop before she could approach their ticket out of hell. He stared at her urgently so she reached up to press her hand against his cheek.
"Emma loves Killian," she said firmly, "We will get back to Storybrooke soon and we will continue Operation Mongoose."
"You want your happy ending with someone else?" Henry sighed and Regina felt a pang of guilt for destroying whatever image of a happy family he had concocted.
"We have had chances, if it was meant to be it would have by now. I love Emma enough to be happy for her," she replied and if she was talking to anyone else, she may have allowed a stray tear to escape.
"Okay," Henry grumbled, taking her elbow hard and gripping on for dear life as they joined the group already on the boat.
"Everything okay?" Snow asked, inspecting the pair.
"Absolutely fine," Regina replied, leaning at the front of the small ship as it started cruising forward along the dark water.
Unfortunately, the position gave her an excellent view of Emma with her arms around Hook's neck, they appeared to be a moment away from nuzzling into each other.
Her body ached to be over there, to be the one the saviour loved. To know that she had a person who would go to the Underworld for her.
To know that she had someone who would always find her, no matter how sickening that thought was.
A light elbow to her side wrenched her gaze away from the unsavoury display and over to Henry. He was smiling sadly at her and coming from him, she saw it as compassion rather than pity.
"You know, Storybrooke is full of blonde princesses?" he whispered, leaning his head against her shoulder as it shook with light laughter.
He sprung up though as the ship screeched to a halt in the water, not yet in the safety of their home.
Smoke swirled at the edge until a red-headed man was leaning against it.
Emma snapped in front of Killian but Hades had his gaze firmly set on Regina who pushed Henry towards his grandparents and as far away from the god as was physically possible.
"Not every blonde princess is the saviour right, your majesty?" he taunted.
Any remnants of a smile dropped from Regina's face and she stood bolt-upright under the questioning gaze of everyone aboard the vessel.
"What is he talking about, Regina?" Emma asked, almost as a squeak.
"I have no idea," Regina said, perhaps a little too quickly.
Hades tutted as he shook his head from side to side in dramatic strokes, "I'm disappointed, Regina, I always thought that the Evil Queen was a better liar than that."
Regina swallowed thickly, refusing to look at Emma.
So Hades decided to have some fun before going through with their deal? She could handle some taunting as long as her family got away safely.
"Emma loves Killian, he is her True Love," Regina said, somehow keeping emotion out of the words despite everything that was about to boil over.
"Is that how you have been rationalising your cowardice? How many villages did you raze in pursuit of Snow White and yet you can't even muster the courage to tell the woman you see every day how you feel. It's tragic, the story of your life," Hades mocked.
"How you feel?" Emma prompted, the wood creaking as she stopped away from her boyfriend.
"I…I don't…" Regina scrambled.
"Feel as though you're worthy of the product of True Love? Makes sense considering that you are responsible for ruining her life. How cruel it must have felt when you realised that you were in love with Emma Swan? With someone so light that the Evil Queen could never deserve her."
"You love…you're in love with…" Emma stuttered, with Regina too stunned to speak as Hades laughed and his grin became increasingly twisted.
Regina recognised the expression from the rare times when she actually felt a scheme coming together.
"Yes, she does!" Henry exploded but was held back by his grandparents, preventing him from rushing to his mother's side.
"Regina…" Emma gasped, drifting forward but Killian circled her wrist and held her in place.
Emma tried to pull free of his grasp but Hades held up a finger somehow freezing whatever the saviour was about to do.
"I'm afraid that this isn't the time for that, you have already made your choice. Your boyfriend for your True Love."
At last, Regina caught Emma's gaze and everything else fell away as they shared a single thought.
True Love had to be mutual.
Their eye contact was broken as Hades moved towards Regina and Emma shouted, "Wait!"
It was too late, the god's hand sank into her chest and it only just occurred to her that she had been magically immobilised this entire time.
Her heart was dust before she could decide what her final words should be.
"No!" Henry shouted, breaking free of Snow and David and then crumbling under his attempt to catch his mother's dead weight.
She dropped atop of him but the teen gathered her in his arms.
He shook her hard, tears already escaping.
Intellectually, he understood enough to cry already but he still shook her insistently.
"Mom! Come on!" he wailed and dropped his head to try and hear a heartbeat that quite literally could no longer be there.
Killian let go of Emma so that she stumbled forward, t she didn't move beyond Hades, she could only look at the dim eyes of the woman who had apparently loved her back.
Hades casually wiped his palms together to rid them of the dust and then waved his hand so that a glimmering appeared momentarily over Emma's heart.
"Just encase you have any notions about sharing a heart," he mocked as Emma clutched the area as Hades pointed at Hook, "And to be absolutely clear, the pirate's blood will not permit you into my realm." The entire group stared at him venomously as he adjusted his blazer and he added smugly, "As fun as this has been, I have an Evil Queen to torture. I hope that you enjoy your trip home."
This ignited some fire in Emma and she launched at him but he was already smoke.
Her knees buckled and she dropped to the deck with deep breaths, but she gathered herself enough to crawl over to her son.
Henry pulled Regina closer to him as if he didn't want his other mother to touch her.
Emma tried in vain to wet her lips, only distantly aware that the boat had started moving again.
With those dim eyes burrowing into her own, with the way that they so quickly lost their intense chocolate shade, it no longer felt as though she was returning home.
"Regina," she sobbed brokenly.