Arrow ｡ Henry Mills [1]

FIFTY-FIVE ➳ THE STRESSED AUTHOR

Teresa had left Henry moments after hearing the door open yet again. This time, much to her surprise, it was Belle. She was with Regina and Robin, and in Robin's arms was a little pink bundle that could only be his daughter. Hades had brought the infant to the Underworld for a spell, which will need pure innocence that could be come from a baby. After Zelena knew she couldn't protect her daughter because of her apparent history with Hades, she handed her over to Regina, who she was now trusting with the safety of her newborn.

"She has your eyes," Regina gasped, gently stroking the baby's cheek.

"So, does she have a name yet, or is she still Baby Hood?" Teresa asked from where she stood near Snow.

"No. Not yet," Robin replied, as Alice peeked over his shoulder to get a look at the baby. She didn't see very many of them in Hell. "I can't. Hades can do things with names."

"Like put them on tombstones to keep people from leaving here..."

"I don't even think it's wise to keep her in this apartment. I mean, what if Zelena changes her mind?"

"I don't think she will, this is her baby," Teresa stated the obvious. "All she wants is for her child be to safe, like every other mother."

"She does, but that doesn't mean what she knows can't come back to bite us," Regina said. "Robin's taking her to the forest."

"Honestly, it's the only place I've ever felt really at home."

Teresa hummed in agreement. "I'm with you on that one."

Suddenly, Henry hurriedly ran down the steps, carrying more papers of the Storybook in his hands. "It happened! It happened again!" He placed the papers on the table with a sigh. "Take a look."

"Snow, look at this," David breathed, holding up an illustration of a baby in a very familair bassinet. Teresa leaned down to get a closer look, and a smile pulled onto her lips when she recognized the baby.

"It's Neal."

"Why did you write this, Henry?" Teresa asked, curious as to why Neal was being written now when he was safe in Storybrooke.

Henry gave a half shurg. "It's like before. I didn't, or I just don't remember. It just...wrote itself. Like it does."

Emma gingerly took the page from her mother and began reading from it. "The infant son of Snow White and Prince Charming looked up at the tiny glass unicorns as they stirred by the wind. But on this night, he didn't hear the chime of the crystal. Instead, he heard the voices of his mother, Snow White, and his father, Prince Charming. They sang a lullaby until he fell asleep as soundly as if he were in their arms."

Teresa smiled as she placed a hand on Snow's shoulder, which Snow gripped with teary eyes. She knew Snow and David were about whether or not their visit to the telephone booth to try and contact their son in some way would even work, and thanks to Henry's writing they now knew.

"He heard us." Snow breathed a sigh of relief, her eyes stinging with unshed tears. "He heard us."

"Thanks, Henry," David said. Henry gave his grandfather a smile.

"I don't know about anyone else, but I am really ready to get back home to my family my whole family. No more waiting. We can save ourselves. We're going to take down Hades, and we're going to do it now."

➳

They spent hours upon hours in the Underworld version of the library, finding a way in many of the books to destroy Hades once and for all. They knew it wasn't going to be easy, but they were willing to try anything.

After much searching, Alice and Regina had discovered a spell. Now, the sky was dark, giving the impression of it being night, and the deceased blonde and her true love were on step ladders, using pieces of chalk to write symbols for a spell on the elevators door so they would open. Emma and Hook were on top of the building, keeping a look out for Hades or anyone else. If they spotted someone, they would give a signal, and when they were ready with the spell, they would give the pair on the roof a signal.

After a few moments, David gave the signal after being told by Regina get to the savior down here for the spell, and not twenty seconds later did Emma come bursting in through the front door of the library with Hook hot on her heels.

As soon as Emma spotted her mother, she wrapped in her a tight embrace. "Mom..."

"Oh!" Snow was surprised by the sudden hug. Concern swirled in her blue eyes as she hugged her daughter back. "Is everything okay?"

"Yeah. It's just good to see you."

"When you're done hugging it out, Emma, we can use a little help here," Regina said, both her and Alice then stepping down from their step ladders.

Hook cocked and eyebrow at their work. "So this is what you've been working on all night. This is our new plan to defeat Hades and go home...a bunch of squiggly lines?"

Alice threw him a look. "Hades put one hell of a protection spell on his elevator, and these squiggly lines are the only way to crack it open."

"Then hopefully that elevator will take us straight to him," Snow said.

"Maybe with surprise on our side, we can get a shot at him."

"That's a lot of maybe's and hopefully's," Hook said in a concerned tone.

"It's all we have right now," Emma said, giving his hand a gentle squeeze. She then stepped forward in between Alice and Regina. "Okay...let's do this."

The trio of women thrust their hands forward, their magic exploding from their palms and hitting the elevator doors. The symbols glowed, and when the elevator doors open, frowns pull onto their faces. They were met with a solid wall.

"Well, that's three points Hades, zero for us," Teresa grumbled.

"Oh, we'll think of something else. We always do. What if...?" Emma's eyes widen with a brand new idea, and turns to face them. "What if I could burn our names off the gravestones that Hades made for us, the ones holding us here?"

"Alice and I looked for a spell like that. It doesn't exist."

"Actually, it does. It kind of came to me in a dream."

David raised an eyebrow. "In a dream?"

"I know it sounds crazy, but I can remember every detail. It would be a long shot, but..."

"Well, as for maybe's and hopefully's, I've learned never to question yours," Hook said, giving his love a tiny smile. "I'm coming with you."

"Snow and I will take Henry and Teresa back to the apartment."

Snow glanced at her husband before stepping towards her daughter. "No, actually, I'm gonna go with Emma."

Emma's eyes widened tremendously, making them wonder just what she dreamed about. "No, no, that's not a good idea."

"I promised to take down Hades and get back to our son, remember? If this is how we do it, I'm in."

"Emma, I wouldn't argue with your mother," David smirked. "Trust me."

"Get going, and I'll...I'll meet you at the cemetery. First, I should talk to my sister. Apparently, she has some history with Hades."

"I'll join you," Alice told her, giving her love a small smile.

"You think she'll talk to you?" Emma asked.

"I don't know. But if he does have a weakness, she might be the only person who knows what it is."

A/N: Not the greatest of chapters, but that could be that this episode was mainly focused more on Emma, Hook and Snow...and Regina, Robin and Zelena.

Guys.....less than seven chapters left 😭😭 I'm both sad for this book to end and excited for the next book to begin so I can start writing season 7.

Also, when do you guys want to read Alice and Regina's love story?