Stay tuned for the Author's Note at the end of the chapter! | Disclaimer: Mentions of blood and death

This wasn't happening. This couldn't be happening.

Regina set foot in her house with a tremulous sigh, her heart beating wildly in her chest as she held her daughter protectively in her arms; the minute Regina had taken her daughter out of her carseat (waking her from her blissful sleep) she had started crying, and the brunette had consoled her daughter with loving murmurs in her ear and slight rocks from side to side.

Sara's cries instantly diminished to a soft coo at the sound of her mother's voice, and in a matter of minutes, a soft light breathing became evident in Regina's ears as she felt the rise and fall of a small chest beneath the palm of her right hand. She had fallen asleep. A mix of Rae and Roland's steps and and the resounding shut of the front door sounded in Regina's ears (as her son and sister-in-law were the last to make it into the house) and Regina's brought her free hand out in front of her, white light emitting from her palm and over the front door and walls of the white mansion.

Her whiskey eyes flit to her daughter's sleeping form, tears of anger and desolation shining in them. She would give her life before Hades laid a hand on the little girl in her arms. The back of her mind flared with the facet of a previous conversation between her fiance and her just the night before:

Promise me you won't ever try to risk your life for me. You're too important to me, and to this family. Our children need their father.

There had to be another way to save their daughter where neither of them had to die. Where no one had to die.

The sorceress's eyes never left the innocent face of the infant that lay in her arms. Her daughter. She still couldn't believe she was thinking of the words. This little girl who was barely two days old. A miracle in Regina's eyes. She never thought that she'd ever be able to conceive a child. And now she had a daughter made from half of her and half of the man she loved, and she couldn't be more in love with those warm brown eyes and dimples that rose every time she smiled—

Regina quickly blinked her thoughts away, thinking only about the plan at hand. Emma was bound to arrive in mere minutes. Regina told herself that Emma was putting a protection spell over her parents' apartment. She breathed out a shaky exhale. Everything would be fine.

After directing Henry and Roland upstairs— Rae offered to stay upstairs with the boys— Robin and Regina sat downstairs on the living room couch waiting for their blonde friend to arrive. For now, nothing but silence—save the continuous crackle of the small fire Robin had started in the fireplace minutes after they had gotten home, and Sara's soft cooing— hovered ominously over them. The house had gotten a bit chilly while they were away at Snow and David's, and that was no environment for a small infant, let alone a six year old child, Robin thought to himself.

"I never thought we'd be here—you and I," Regina said as she laid her head on Robin's shoulder, thinking of the past year and a half. Meeting Robin in the Enchanted Forest, unsure whether she could love again, after Daniel, and after she lost the person she loved the most. Her son; her everything, at the time.

Now she had a new family. She had the Charmings and Robin, and Roland, and Henry, and Rae, and Sara.

They were her everything.

"Neither did I. From bickering constantly and hurling insults at each other in the Enchanted Forest, to now; engaged to be married with an infant daughter here in Storybrooke?" Robin passed his thumb over his daughter's cheek as silence hung over the two soulmates before Robin spoke again, "I'd say fate was in our favor, my love."

Regina couldn't help but think of how fate certainly wasn't in their favor right now, with the Lord of the Underworld after their daughter.

With concern clouding in his eyes, Robin noticed the despaired look on the brunette's face. Pessimism stretched over the whites of her eyes, the minute he said the words, but her whiskey brown irises told a different story. A story of love and loss. A story that Regina told herself everyday, that made her stronger. Her story. And she was so glad she lived it. She wouldn't be where she was today otherwise.

Robin pressed a kiss to Regina's hair, encircling his arm around her waist, "We will defeat Hades. I promise."

He held his girls for what seemed like hours before his lover spoke, parting the growing silence brought on by the ominous feeling that lingered over them like thick smoke.

Her voice broke and trembled as she looked to her baby in her arm's, fighting the tears in her eyes. "There's still a chance we could lose her tonight - lose any of our children tonight. Robin...I don't think I'll be able to survive that."

"It won't come to that—"

"—And how do you know for certain?" Regina whispered, interrupting him. Her voice was thick with tears as a look of both inquiry and anguish seemed to arise in her watery brown eyes.

Robin cupped her cheek. She could feel the warmth of his palm and the callouses on his fingers as he softly angled her chin upwards. She couldn't bare to look at him. She couldn't bare to look into the eyes that stripped her of her walls and peeled her layers away until the only thing left was the underlying anguish and ire and love that pieced together her heart—broken time and time again.

Regina stared at the flames. She stared at the flames that seemed to lick the tops of the bricked fireplace and consume the wood that lay beneath it.

"Regina, please look at me."

That voice—so soft yet so strong—caused her deep brown eyes to flit upwards to stare into those ocean eyes that made her walls crumble and caused her vulnerability to seep through the cracks in the stone of the walls that, prior to meeting Henry, encased her heart.

"I know for certain because we both know that we'd rather die than lose any of our children. I can promise you, Regina, that nothing will happen to this family as long as I'm alive. I would go to the ends of the earth—I would walk through hell if it meant I'd lose any of you."

Robin's voice was strong, steady, and filled with emotion. Enough that she knew they would both do everything in their power to protect their family.

Regina nodded solemnly, mirroring Robin's expression as they both stood from the couch and—as if they both thought with the same mind— began preparing for Hades' arrival. Holding Sara in her arms, the brunette quickly enchanted Robin's arrows with a quick wave of her hand over his quiver. What would seem to someone like standard arrows for hunting wild game, now possessed the ability to injure the man who was after their daughter.

She quickly looked to the clock on the wall in front of her. 5:15. Her eyes flit to the many windows that lined the front of the house, confusion masking her features. Where was Emma? She said should be there. Did something happen? No. Regina would not be pessimistic. The blonde would arrive at her house, they would put the cloaking spell on Sara, and everything would be fine.

Everything would be fine.

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.

.

With a single wave of Emma's hands, a bright light spread throughout the Charming's vintage apartment, the protection spell barring it from the magic of the man that was to enter their town.

As the light diminished, she turned towards her parents, urgency evident in her tone. "I have to go help put a cloaking spell on Sara. Please be careful, and call me if you need anything, okay?" Emma hugged both her parents, kissed her little brother's forehead, stepped back, and vanished in a puff of grey smoke with just a simple thought, appearing in Regina's living room just seconds after.

Regina's eyes immediately flit to her friend, a small smile etching itself onto her face as she saw the way Emma's eyes shined with hope instead of worry. Regina was glad Emma didn't show how worried she knew her friend was. Regina would surely break if she did otherwise.

The blonde rubbed her hands together in preparation. "Sorry I got here so late. I was putting the protection spell over my parent's place. You ready?"

"Ready. Do you want to do this down here? or..?"

"Her room is perfect. Lead the way," Emma smiled at her friend as the two soulmates led the blonde to their daughter's nursery. Regina turned to her friend, her hand on the banister. "Rae's in Henry's room with the boys."

Emma nodded in understanding before they approached the door to their the baby's nursery. With a simple turn of a doorknob, Regina stepped into the room, slowing laying the tired infant in her crib, the baby drifting off to sleep the minute her small body made contact with the soft cushioning of her crib.

The small group stepped out of the room, Regina closing the door softly, and stopping as both her and the blonde turned to put a protection spell over it. With the diminishing hues of red and white, the group heard Rae whispering kindly to the boys in the next room over.

Roland's small voice a light sound in the room. "Aunt Rae, is the bad man going to take my sister?"

They could hear the slight tremble of his voice. Tears pricked at the corners of Regina's eyes as she heard her six year old, worried and fearful for his sister's life. Regina would not stop until Hades was defeated. She would protect all of her children, even if that meant her death. Her hands tightened into fist in anger for the man who threatened her child's life.

"Oh Roland...your parents—your family - they are strong. A family as united as your's is? They can conquer any villain. Your parents will try their very best to keep your sister safe, I promise you," Rae replied, emotion dripping from her tone.

With a soft turn of the doorknob at Robin's hand, the triad stepped into Henry's room; small smiles donning their faces, so not to look worried, for Roland's sake.

"Mom," Henry stood and hugged the blonde, his arms encircling themselves around her shoulders. God he was getting so tall, Emma told herself.

"Hey kid," Emma ruffled his hair, and threw him a smile, love illuminating her olive green eyes. The blonde then, with more of a motherly demeanor than usual, bent down at the knees to Roland's height, smiling brightly, hope shining in her eyes.

She extended her hand towards the boy, "Hello Roland."

He took in Emma's attire - a deep purple dress contrasting her skin tone, light makeup, and hair done up into a braided crown - and smiled as he shook her hand, a question in his warm brown eyes.

"Are you here to keep my sister from the bad man, Ms. Emma?"

"Yes I sure am, Roland. Regina and I are going to do a spell to keep her safe from the bad man. But we have to do it now if we want it to work."

"Can I hold my sister's hand while you and Mama do the spell? So she doesn't feel alone?"

Regina choked on a gasp at what Roland had just called her, grabbing at Robin's hand for comfort. Within seconds she spoke up, her eyes swimming with tears at the boy's request. "Of course you can, baby."

A watery smile appeared on her face as the young boy walked over to his half-sister's room across the hall, lightly opening the door so as not to wake her, and put his hand in between the thin white bars of her crib to take her small hand in his.

The second their hands made contact, her small fingers tightened around his. Roland smiled brightly, his smile reaching up to his eyes as he looked around the room, ecstatic. The rest of the group had followed Roland into the room, and were now dispersed around it; Henry and Rae by the window at the far corner of the room, opposite of the door, Robin and Regina closer to the door, and Emma on the other side of the crib, to Roland's left.

"Let's get started," Regina nodded toward her daughter in the crib, wiping her tears from under her eyes with the simple swipe of both of her fingers as she inhaled, and walked over to where her daughter lay, love shining in her eyes.

If they were to lose her tonight…

Regina quickly blinked her thoughts away as she put her all into the spell that would cloak her daughter's magic, protecting her from Hades. She urged herself to not think of the worst. To—and it pained her to her even think of it—think like Snow. Optimistically. This spell would work. They would defeat Hades. He would not take their daughter to the Underworld with him. Everything would be fine.

Emma crouched down to Roland's level before starting the spell. "Roland?"

"Yes, Ms. Emma?"

"So when your Mama and I do this spell, the only one's that will be able to see your sister are you, Henry, your Aunt Rae, your Mama, and your Papa so the bad man can't see her. You understand?"

Roland nodded, a look of understanding on his face. Emma ruffled his curls with a bright smile before she stood with her hands over the infant in the crib, "Good."

"You ready?" She saw Emma in her periphery, a blur of platinum blonde and purple, her hands now hovered over her daughter's small form. The brunette blinked away her thoughts, mirroring the blonde's actions, breathing a steady exhale as she nodded in confirmation.

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.

.

The chilled night air billowed in the streets—sweeping leaves along pavement and asphalt roads—causing a low whistling to sound as it blew between the branches of thin trees. This acted as the only noise within the silence of the town save the cricket's chirps. The town's stillness fully pressed down on the malevolent man's shoulders, then. His eyes surveyed the town surrounded by the inky blackness that was the night sky—its street lights illuminating the slick roads.

Storybrooke. The man smiled, devilishly.

He was finally here after months of attempts and difficulty. He had known of the prophecy from the moment the infant was conceived. In Camelot, Zelena made a deal with him that made his plans run much smoother, and he couldn't be more grateful for her assistance. Their agreement stated, that he would give her the spell she needed to transfer the infant from her mother's womb, and Zelena's heart was to be crushed into dust, opening the portal connecting Storybrooke to the Underworld; ultimately letting Hades through to take her sister's child. And Zelena had agreed. Claimed that they both got what they wanted. Zelena wanted to make Regina feel the pain she felt when their mother gave them up. What better way to do that then to take away her chance of carrying her daughter to term, and have Hades get rid of her all together?

Everything was going to to plan. Hades appeared where the town's creation began the moment he stepped through the portal that led to this strange world, the orange hue of the town line staring back at him before he made his way into the heart of the town.

He took in the colossal clock tower that took purchase on the town's main street before him. 8:15.

His shoes crunched asphalt as he made his way down main street, following the pull of magic that led him down another street. He smirked. She was close.

He vowed to himself that he would take that baby to the Underworld with him and make sure that prophecy never came true if it was the last thing he did.

.

.

.

Both women honed all of their magic, emotion clouding their minds, thinking of the one's they loved as they started the spell. They thought of what they could become if someone were to hurt one of their loved ones. That they could turn into someone's worst nightmare. That they could reign hell upon anyone who dare even think about hurting the ones they loved. In seconds, a burst of light magic emanated from both their hands, a bright light blue incandescence flowing from Emma's hands and a red hued ray flowing from Regina's and onto the innocent child causing a violet aura to surround her.

Dark brown flit to olive green, a certain determination in both their eyes.

It's working.

Regina looked down to her daughter and the violet aura that surrounded her as Emma and Regina's powers converged to perform the cloaking spell. In mere seconds, the aura diminished. The two women's hands retreated from above the infant, satisfaction shining in their eyes.

"So the spell—it's complete?" Robin's thick accented whisper sounded in the room.

"It is," Hope was evident in the brunette's voice as she made to grab her fiance's hand, smiling brightly.

"Very well then. Thank you Emma. Truly," Robin bowed his head slightly at the blonde in gratitude.

"No problem. I'm glad I could help. Anything to help keep this family safe. You guys are a part of my family—and family always helps one another." Emma looked down to the young boy who was still holding his sister's hand. "Right, little man?" She bought her fingers through his soft dark brown curls smiling at the sensation. He was getting so old.

Roland's bright smile lit up the room as he let go of his sister's small hand to hug the blonde, his tiny arms wrapping around her legs as he angled his head upward to look at her. Emma's hands came to rest on Roland's upper back. "Right." It was then that a small cry broke through the whispered silence within the nursery. Regina and Robin's heart's broke at the sound.

"It's seems like someone wants their Mama," Emma voiced as she stood next to the crib, picking up the infant with ease and settling her in her mother's arms. Her cries immediately descended to a series of small whimpers as the brunette rocked her back and forth, transferring her weight between both of her feet, soothing her with light shushes and murmurs of love.

"I think it's time for me to go, Roland. The bad man won't find your sister now. My job's done." Emma crouched to Roland's level, taking his hand in her own.

"You're all protected, Roland," a smile erupted across her face.

"Thank you, Ms. Emma," the little boy smiled.

"You're very welcome. Now," Emma stood with her hands on her thighs as she did so, "I better be heading home. When the bad man comes to Storybrooke, you stay in here with Henry, Sara, and your Aunt Rae, okay? There's a protection spell on this room, and the house so the bad man can't get in."

"Okay, Ms. Emma," Roland nodded matter-a-factly as Robin stepped up, placing a hand on the boy's small back and ushering him toward where his sister stood with his soon-to-be step-son.

"I'm gonna go talk to your parents downstairs. You guys stay upstairs - you can go to your rooms, but when your parents, Henry, or Aunt Rae tell you, you come to this room, okay?"

Roland nodded profusely in understand, his dark brown curls shaking to and fro with each nod of his head.

"Good," she ruffled his curls, hugged Henry and Rae, and walked outside the room and into the hall with Robin and Regina, her heels clicking on the hardwood. Robin closed the door, turning to Emma and his fiance, with their now quiet daughter in her arms.

"So what's next?" Robin voice sounded in a whisper in the hallway.

"Well," Emma walked down the stairs as she spoke, "everything valuable is protected. Right now it's just a matter of waiting—"

"So you just want us to wait for Hades to come take our daughter?" Robin questioned, a bit of anger dripping from his tone as he whispered harshly. They were now downstairs in front of the front door.

Regina turned toward him, her back facing the blonde, blocking him from Emma's vision. She smoothed the hand she could over his shoulders and left arm. "Babe, calm down. You're going to wake the baby. Breathe, okay?"

He bowed his head, as his lover stepped back, rocking their baby in her arms, the boulder of what was at stake seemingly weighing down on Robin's shoulders. "You're right. I'm sorry. I'm just worried. I shouldn't have acted like an arse and snapped at you like that. You're just trying to help us."

"Hey it's okay. We're all worried," Emma set a hand on Robin's shoulder. "I just mean that we wait for any threatening signs and act from there. Just call me if you guys need anything. I'm a wave of a hand away," She could see the unease in the brunette's eyes.

Emma's eyes held determination and confidence as she looked at the couple. "I won't let anything happen to your family. I promise you guys that. Roland, Rae, and Sara—they're my family too. I won't let anything tear our family apart, okay?"

Tears swam in whiskey eyes as the brunette took the blonde's hand in hers, squeezing tight. "Thank you, Emma. For everything."

"Hey don't get all emotional on me now, Mills. Repeat after me: We're not losing anyone tonight."

Regina sniffled, a smile donning her features as she nodded in agreement with the blonde, repeating her friend's words in refrain. "We're not losing anyone tonight."

"Good. Now I'm gonna go. Don't hesitate to call me if you guys need anything."

With a wave of a perfectly manicured hand, the blonde woman vanished in a cloud of thick grey smoke.

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Half an hour later…

He was darkness. He was the sound of screams that pierced man-made silence. He was the pitch black night that surrounded him. He was the ominous air that resonated over the small town. He was death itself. Plain as day but dark as night.

Tendrils of darkness seemed to hail from him as his shoes bore a crunched sound with each step he took on the asphalt towards the pull of magic he felt pulse in his veins, in his very being before it stopped abruptly. Like a string had been cut that connected the two.

What the hell?

Hades grasped for the pull, grasped for anything resembling the unmarred bit of magic that was originally stringing him along toward the infant. Nothing surfaced.

Confusion masked his features, as anger resonated deep within him, before he realized.

A cloaking spell. This was ludicrous. Hades let out a deep laugh resonating deep within him and sounding in between the heavy silence that blanketed itself around him.

They think they can fool me. Imbeciles.

His icy stare flit around the street corner to land on a street sign above him. Mifflin Street.

Hades smirked devilishly. What a great place to start.

He gathered all of the magic inside him and began blasting each and every house he came upon with counter-protection spells. The first few houses shone white as his magic blasted their outer surface. Nothing. He noticed a house larger than all the others on the street—a large white mansion. Another blast, and the mansion he hit possessed a purple aura. A smirk overtook his features, his eyes growing dark with mischief and devilment.

Stalking towards the mansion, blue fireballs appearing in each gloved hand, he vowed that he would find and capture the child who was prophesized to be his undoing, and he wouldn't let anything or anyone stop him.

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.

.

The mansion shook, pictures falling from the cream-colored walls as light bulbs flickered as a sheen of violet light came over the outside of the house.

Regina's eyes widened. "No."

Hades was there for their daughter. The protection spell was taken off of the house.

She immediately turned to her fiance, holding their daughter out carefully so he could take her. "Robin. Take the baby to the nursery." Regina laid Sara in her father's arms. Robin's arms instantly wrapped around the infant protectively.

"Are you out of your mind?! I'm not leaving you here to battle Hades alone! I'll give her to Rae!" The baby woke from Robin's yells, wailing.

Regina's voice quivered with emotion, "You're her father, Robin. I know you'll keep her safe. Light magic is the only thing that can defeat Hades, and I'm the only one here who has any!"

"And you don't think Rae will do the same?! Regina, we have to trust that Rae will keep our daughter safe! You aren't doing this alone!" Robin stalked over to the stairs yelling for his sister, as Regina focused on honing her light magic in preparation for Hades' arrival.

Rae emerged from the hallway, to show herself at the top of the carpeted stairs, a mix of determination and fear shining in her eyes. At the look in Robin's eyes, she descended down the stairs with haste.

"Rae, I need you to take the baby," Robin asked, laying his daughter in her Aunt's arms. He spoke with quick words. "Take the baby, and the boys and go into the nursery. And no matter what happens, do not come out. Both Emma and Regina protected the room with magic. You all should be safe as long as you are in there."

The light brown haired young woman nodded in understanding, ascending the stairs as fast as she could with the newborn wailing in her arms.

In mere seconds, Robin was at Regina's side, bow at the ready, set to kill the man who was planning to take their child with him to the Underworld. He would have to go through the both of them in order to get to their daughter, and if he laid a hand on his children or his fiancee, Robin would send an arrow through his cold, dead, dark heart.

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The cream-colored colossal front door of the mansion shook vigorously with the pressure of strong magic, before it swung in on itself ramming into the wall adjacent to it. And then their was silence.

Regina and Robin stood their ground—two balls of fire appeared in Regina's hands, and Robin knocked his arrow, aiming it at the door. Both reflecting the same expression. Fury.

A blonde man with a face resembling death, entered the mansion, a look of amusement in his cold blue eyes as his mouth tipped up into a smirk.

Hades spoke his voice lined with sarcasm,"Well hello there. Pleased to make your acquaintance. I'm—"

Regina response was quick as she cut him off—her voice made of steel. "We know who you are and what you want. You are not taking our daughter."

Hades looked to the couple with acknowledging eyes, "You two know why I'm here. Where is she? Tell me now, and no one will get hurt."

"Like we'd ever tell the likes of you," Robin spat at the man before letting an arrow fly right into his chest just inches away from his heart.

Hades chuckled as he extinguished the fireball in his right hand.

"You really think—" Hades pulled the arrow out of his chest swiftly. No blood. No flinch of pain. Absolutely effortless.

He continued, "—that your pesky wooden sticks can injure me? From the feel of it I'm guessing those were enchanted with dark magic," Hades' amused gaze slid to Regina, "weren't they.. Your Majesty?"

Hades dropped the wooden arrow to the floor with finality. "I am immortal. No dark magic can hurt me. And from the looks of it, that is the only thing you two have. And I'm afraid that won't do much to me, will it? But I'm sure it can hurt your archer here, correct? I told you... that if you handed over your daughter, no one would get hurt. But—you see, Regina—you have disobeyed me. And you will suffer the consequences."

An ominous smile appeared on Hades's face.

A pang of vexation shot through Regina as a memory of a time years ago clawed its way her into her brain as soon as Hades said those words. The same words her mother repeated time and time again when Regina was just a child.

You have disobeyed me Regina, and you will suffer the consequences.

Hades' gloved hand procured a blue fireball in an instant, outstretching his hand towards Robin. In the blink of an eye, the ball of fire had traveled across the space between them nearing the man she loved the most—

"NO!"

In mere seconds, Regina's hands came out in front of her towards the fireball he had thrown towards Robin, shining brightly in a large orb of light. She blasted the fireball, and it quickly diminished into ash.

Regina smirked, her eyebrows arching in pure satisfaction.

In an instant, light came rapidly from her palms and towards Hades. A painful groan left the blonde man, his dark heart receiving the brunt of Regina's power.

Regina stopped to speak, the light orbs in her hands now dimming to a light shimmer.

"Don't you ever go near him again. Or what I just did to you? Oh," Regina scoffed darkly as she let her eyes trail over the man who was now sprawled out on the floor, "you'll be the focus of all of that power tenfold."

A smile plastered itself on Hades's face, his eyes cold as he sat up and stood with ease. He let out a low exhale feigning exhaustion as he leant up against the wall behind him, folding his hands in front of him, ostentatiously.

"I applaud your efforts, Regina. But I'm afraid you are a mix of both light and dark. And that just can't hurt me." Hades stepped away from the wall, then, arrogantly walking closer to the woman in front of him.

"I can feel your daughter's presence though," Hades closed his eyes feeling over the room, sending his magic over the room like tendrils of darkness only seen by his own mind, "maybe through a.. cloaking spell?" A light amusing smile appeared on his face as his cold eyes opened to meet wet whiskey brown eyes that were now open wide in a mix of shock and dread.

Regina and Robin's world's stopped, crumbling into ash and stone around them.

No. No. NO. NO.

But before either of them could breath a word, Hades waved a gloved hand, freezing Robin and Regina where they stood, and ridding them of their weapons— Regina her magic, and Robin his bow and quiver— a bright smile spreading across Hades' face.

"Oh, yes!"

With another wave of his gloved hands and an exhaled breath, a blaze of blue fire quickly erupted in his arms and instantly smothered to reveal a small pink bundle.

Sara.

Her daughter's piercing wail struck the silence, each cry another crack in Regina's heart.

She wanted to scream.

She wanted to sob.

She longed to do both until her throat burned. She wanted to light the man that held her daughter on fire. Set him ablaze and watch him burn alive and turn into ash.

Regina stared at her beautiful baby girl.

So innocent.

So fragile.

She stared, longingly hoping that somehow something would save them; save their daughter. Anything.

Hades rocked the crying infant, a triumphant smile spreading across his face. "Face it, you two. What made you think you could beat me?"

Please. Please. Please.

Hades' cold eyes flit between the two parents, acknowledging there teary bloodshot eyes, rolling his own with an annoyed sigh. "Your daughter is prophesized to be my undoing, you two know this. So," a light pause, "to make sure that never happens, I'm taking this little one"— Hades looked to the infant in his arms, who surprisingly enough ceased her cries— "to the Underworld with me."

"Let go of my sister!" A deep strong voice sounded from the top of the stairs.

Henry.

No. No. No.

"Let go of my sister, and take me instead." NO!

Regina wanted to scream till her lungs and voice gave out.

She wanted to rip Hades' throat out and leave him to die.

"I have the heart of the Truest Believer, I was born out of True Love, I am the Author. That has to mean something to you. I can promise you that my parents won't let my sister anywhere near you after this, and you can take me to The Underworld instead, alright?"

Henry descended the steps cautiously, nearing the blonde man holding his sister.

Hades' brows rose at the proposition. "Sounds promising. But," Hades faced the two parents, still and unmoving, "they need to agree to this."

Hades waved a swift hand over the two lovers, allowing them to speak for mere seconds.

Yells left them both; mixes between cries and screams. "HENRY, NO!"

The blonde man's hand swept over the two parents once more, quickly muting them once more.

"Well, it seems that's all the answer I need. I rather like doing the opposite of what people tell me to. Their anguish just fascinates me." Hades' eyes lit up with mischief. "Can you get over here, kid?"

"Let my sister go first, and then I'll come with you."

"I was only asking to be nice," Hades spoke through gritted teeth before he lifted a hand into the air to transport the three of them to The Underworld in a cloud of blue smoke.

In an instant, a bright light engulfed the triad, blinding the occupance of the room for only a few seconds before the light dimmed to reveal Hades' shocked face as he looked to the infant in his arms who was glowing.

"What is she doing to me!?" Hades yelled in pain, frozen in his place, not able to let go of the infant. Regina's eyes flit over the scene before her. Dark tendrils of magic left Hades and simply floated away into the air around them, vanishing. Sara just increased in brightness.

Everyone's breath caught in their throats as they realized.

She's stripping him of his magic.

Instant relief washed over the two parents as they could feel Hades's freezing spell reversing. The minute Regina was granted back the ability to move she lunged for Hades, taking Sara from his arms and freezing him in place.

She checked over her baby girl to find no injuries or remnants of dark magic. Regina breathed a sigh of relief, pressing a kiss to her daughter's forehead.

The brunette's whiskey eyes were bloodshot and rimmed with red as she looked to the villain before her, her voice but a whisper in the already silent room as she realized..

""A female child born from two parents that carry the truest of love, and are soulmates will defeat Hades: Lord of the Underworld"."

In his frozen state, Hades' icy blue eyes widened at Regina's words before a cloud of grey smoke appeared behind Hades and a yell of "Henry move!" sounded throughout the room. In an instant Henry had stepped back and a sword was shoved into Hades' back to the hilt, pulled back out, and dropped to the floor with finality. Hades gave a pained yell before dropping to the floor, his knees barking on impact. Blood poured from his wounds.

Excalibur. Emma had summoned the darkness from all of the previous Dark Ones and transferred it into the sword. Hades' eyes widened as tendrils of darkness fled his body and engulfed him in its inky depths, his blood and body vanishing and the darkness along with it.

In a matter of seconds a bright aura of magic swept over the occupance of the living room, quickly dimming to reveal Emma - now rid of her Dark One garb - donned in her infamous red leather jacket, jeans, and black boots. Her hair was back to normal, from the platinum blonde bun, to her golden blonde curls.

The portal connecting The Underworld and Storybrooke was closed— forever.

.

.

.

Silence blanketed itself over the room before Emma spoke, "Is everyone okay?"

Regina brought Sara closer to her chest, replying, "We're fine."

Both mother's eyes quickly slid to Henry, who was standing mere feet from where Hades' body vanished, a shocked look in his warm brown eyes.

"Are you okay, Henry?" Regina brought a hand to Henry's shoulder, squeezing it in a mix of concern and motherly affection. Henry nodded towards his brunette Mother. "I'm fine, Mom."

Henry's gaze shifted toward his blonde mother. "How did you know that would work?"

Emma let a small smile paint itself on her face as she replied. "I didn't. Lucky guess? All I know, is that it's good to be back," Emma grabbed at her red leather jacket, pulling it tighter around her torso.

Her olive green eyes flit to Henry's hazel ones. "Hey I gotta call Killian and your grandparents; tell them everything's okay. I'll be in the kitchen if anyone needs me."

Emma nodded at Regina in confirmation, before disappearing into the kitchen, her phone in her hand.

Regina's voice trembled, emotion evident in her voice as she stared at her oldest son.

"Oh," As best she could with Sara in the crook of her left arm, Regina put a hand to the nape of his neck and — bringing him closer to her— pressed a kiss to his forehead. "I adore how brave you've become, but please never do that again. You might just give me a heart attack."

This caused a low chuckle to rise from her son as Regina stepped back to readjust Sara in her arms, fixing the pink blanket the infant was wrapped up in. "Sorry, Mom."

"It's okay, my boy." Robin's eyes rimmed with red as he took a step towards Henry and pulled him into a tight embrace, grabbing fistfuls of the red and blue checkered fabric of his step-son's long sleeve, clutching it. As if afraid Hades could still take him right then and there.

"I applaud your courage and bravery, but don't ever scare your Mother and I like that again, you hear me?" His voice shook with the onset of tears, as a wet chuckle came from the archer.

"Okay." Henry welcomed his step-father's, wrapping his arms around the man until he pulled back, his eyes filling with tears, threatening to flow onto his cheeks.

"God I don't know what we would have done if we lost the both of you," Robin turned to face his fiancee, cradling their daughter in her arms. Robin clasped Henry's shoulder in an instant and brought him closer to his side— an act of fatherly love.

Henry angled his head towards the man with his arm fixed around him, a mix of surprise and love in his eyes. "You really care about me that much?"

Robin looked down at Henry, at first a chuckle coming from him that quickly died down as he looked at Henry's eyes. Earnest and solemn. Serious.

Robin's eyes widened in shock. "Henry. Of course I care about you. I love you like a son. I care for you the same way I care about Roland and Sara. You are my children, and I will protect you with all that I have. Never doubt that, alright?"

Henry nodded, a small smile spreading across his face. "It's just..after my Dad died, I never really had a real father figure until you. You have been a real father to me, Robin. And I couldn't be more grateful."

Robin's smile brightened the room, ridding it of it's ominous feeling and replacing it with joy. "Well of course lad," he clapped Henry on the shoulder. "I hope you know I would never try to replace your father. I will always be here to show you right from wrong," Robin slid his glance towards Regina, "and also how to treat women with respect and love. Knowing us men, and our clumsy nature, they are the finest we could ever come across in our lifetime. You want to find a woman who knows you better than you know yourself, who loves you for you. And above all else, who makes you want to be the best version of yourself, each and every day."

Ocean blue irises never left whiskey brown ones as their owner spoke these words.

Regina smiled sweetly, before a small voice pierced the growing silence between the group downstairs.

"Mama! Papa! Henry!" The little boy's small feet hastened down the carpet-clad steps, as Rae appeared at the top of the steps, a sweet smile plastered on her face. "Sara's okay, I take it? And Henry as well? I tried to stop him but—"

"They are both perfectly fine. Thank you so much, Rae — for your help." Regina greeted Rae with a bright smile, joy and relief illuminating her warm brown eyes.

Rae followed her nephew down the steps at a much more normal pace, trailing a hand down the wooden banister. Her smile making its way onto her fair face, her blue eyes shining with love for her new family. She gave a simple nod towards the brunette before she made her way to her brother's side; Roland had run into his father's legs and hoisted him into the air, Roland breaking off into a fit of giggles. Emma came from the kitchen, love shining in her olive green eyes.

In a matter of minutes David, Killian, and Snow —with Neal in her arms— walked through the front door, a mix of concern and relief reflecting across their faces as they took in the sight of everyone in the room - unharmed and smiling.

David encircled Emma and Henry in a tight embrace, cradling Emma's head in the process; like he always did.

"Emma told us what happened. Is everyone okay? Is Sara okay?" Snow asked. Snow and David's eyes slid to Regina and Robin with concern as David pulled back from the hug.

Regina looked down at her daughter in her arms with a warm smile. "She's perfect. Is Neal alright?"

"Completely unharmed - nothing touched him," David answered, cradling Neal's head as he leant into Snow's touch.

"Good," A warm smile broke out onto her face.

"God it feels so weird to say that, usually we're chasing after some monster or villain."

"Aye, love. So is the darkness destroyed for good?"

Regina nodded in answer, a smile of relief on her face, sharing a look with Emma as she continually rocked from side to side holding her sleeping daughter protectively in her arms.

Thank you, Emma.

The blonde looked to the floor, a smile painted across her face as she waved a hand towards Regina seeming to say: No problem. Her eyes shined green at the sudden recognition from the woman opposite her.

"Well I'm glad, Your Majesty. We now can actually focus on the future ahead of us; on getting happy endings," Hook intertwined his hand with Emma's beside him, and smiled. "A reformed villain such as yourself should be happy - think about your future with your little one having arrived. God knows you've worked hard for it—"

"We've worked hard for it. I see how much you've changed, Killian. Not just for Emma but for yourself. And that's where it's starts; you have to learn to forgive yourself — it's one of the hardest things anyone can do. And you've done it."

Killian's stare flit to the floor, a certain light in his eyes, as his smile grew. "Yes, I suppose so. Thank you, Regina."

Regina nodded in answer, looking to the scene before her with watery eyes—Emma now had both arms around Henry and Killian's shoulders, and Robin was tickling Roland to the point of unending laughter; Rae beside them smiling. The brunette's gaze flit down to the sleeping baby in her arms, true love in her eyes. She couldn't ask for anything better in this world to have than what was right there with her.

Her family.

Regina stepped closer to Robin and Roland and felt her lover's hand at the small of her back - warm and strong. She leant into his touch, closing her eyes as she let her son's small voice overtake her senses.

"So the bad man's gone, Mama? Sara's okay?" Regina opened her eyes, and faced her son, cupping his cheek and pressing a soft kiss to it with a smile.

"She sure is."

Roland's smile was a rush of warmth through her. As she looked into her son's eyes she couldn't help the tears that sprung at the corners of them.

"Mama? Why are you crying?"

"Oh honey no, these are happy tears," she said. Regina let out a wet laugh as she sniffled and looked to her lover before she spoke again.

Her eyes instinctively flit to the ocean blue irises mere inches away from her own.

She noticed that Robin's eyes radiated a warm tenderness across the space between them. With a hopeful smile on his face, his eyes lit with joy.

"I'm just very happy."

Regina's watery red-rimmed eyes drifted downwards to gaze at the small infant that lay in her arms.

Her daughter's breath came out in small tufts of air with each simple rise and fall of her chest.

She was so beautiful.

A slight ripple of awareness shot through her and settled warm in her core.

She'd never been promised her future.

Everytime she had happiness it was ripped out from under her by fate's hands, taking pieces of her heart in the process.

But she had to go through all the awful and dreadful things she went through - she had to have all of these bad things happen to her because if none of that had happened, she wouldn't have the family she had now.

Her mother killing Daniel, having to marry Leopold at her Mother's hand, Robin leaving Storybrooke with "Marian", Zelena transferring her baby girl from her own womb and into her sister's pulsed in a vivid memory at the back of mind.

These things made her stronger - more resilient, and she wouldn't be Regina Mills without her resilience. It's what made her, her.

Mother. Monarch. Survivor.

This was her future. They were her future - the Charming's, Emma, Henry, Robin, Roland, and Rae - and she would do anything to make sure it wasn't ripped from her grip again.

It seems villains did get happy endings.

She grabs for Robin's hand beside her - he's set Roland down, who is having a deep conversation with his Aunt about how good the food at Granny's Diner is, that maybe they could all go there for breakfast when they wake up the next morning.

She feels the reassuring squeeze of Robin's calloused hand in her own, and the way he fiddles with her engagement ring that makes Regina laugh sweetly, as she holds her daughter in the crook of her right arm, protectively.

They both stare at their daughter; at the way her chest rises and falls with each breath, the way she seems to stretch out in her Mother's arms before sleep takes her into its peaceful waiting arms, and she realizes that this isn't the end.

This is just the beginning.

A/N: So there you have it! The final installment of "Twist of Fate"! First of all, I want to thank everyone who has helped me with this fic; helped plan out plot points, who has ever offered to beta read (you guys know you are and I love each and every one of you, you are godsends). Second of all, this is my very first fanfiction, and I'm still astonished as to how many people have reviewed, favorited and followed! It seriously blows my mind. Hopefully you guys really enjoyed this story and I'm excited to see what I write next! I would love to hear your thoughts on this last chapter, so please don't hesitate to review!

If by any chance you guys want an epilogue to this story (because i'm still debating whether to write one or not) please do not hesitate to tell me if that's something you guys would like.

Disclaimer: Props to Adam Horowitz and Eddy Kitsis for these amazing characters. Rae is the only character that is mine (I hoped you like her, and would love to hear your thoughts on her, by the way!) Oh! And if you saw the Season 6 Finale please please please do not hesitate to PM me! I would love to hear your thoughts so we can fangirl together!