Daughter of Darkness || Once Upon a Time

Chapter Thiry-Six | Back to the Underworld

"We found her!" Emma shouted as she and Regina rushed back to the waiting room. She ignored the nurse who asked her to be quiet. "We know where Meg is!"

Robin looked up at them. "Really?"

Regina nodded. "She's in the Underworld."

Dorothy raised an eyebrow. "And that's good?"

Emma shook her head. "She's not dead in the Underworld."

"So why is she in the Underworld?"

Regina took a deep breath. "...She's...Megaera. It makes sense, though. She must have thought we hated her because we didn't recognize her. That's why she was ready to kill us for Hades."

"We need to go back for her."

Dorothy stood up. "Hold on. You want to voluntarily go back to the Underworld so you can save a fury who tried to kill both of you?"

"She's my daughter!"

"She tried to kill you!"

"She did kill me," Robin corrected, "but I don't care. I'm going back for her and you can't stop me."

"If you would like to try," Regina added, "then you can say hello to one of my fireballs." Regular felt Merlin roll his eyes next to her, but she ignored him.

"You'll need someone to open the portal," Mary Margaret said. "We only know Gold and Maleficent can open the portal for sure."

Regina turned to Robin. "You head to the pond, I'll get Gold."

❃

Blood dripped into the lake and it wasn't long before the ferryman and his ferry were back in Storybrooke. Regina and Robin stepped into the boat after thanking Gold. Everyone else had either elected to stay behind or been forced to because Regina was not about to put anyone else in danger.

The ferry docked in the Underworld and the ferryman stayed silent as Regina and Robin once again entered the Fields of Punishment.

"How will we get from here to the Labyrinth?" Robin whispered.

Regina thought for a moment. "Fighting will take too long. I think a magical solution would be best this time. I might be able to make us look different... Gold did this to me once..." Regina snapped her fingers and a wave of magic covered her and Robin. When the magic cleared, Robin couldn't see a difference, but Regina seemed pleased. "There we go."

"You still look the same."

"I'll look the same to you, but not anyone else," Regina explain. "Come on, it'll wear off once we reach the Labyrinth."

The walk to the Labyrinth was a short one. No one recognized Regina or Robin, so no one tried to attack the former Evil Queen.

Once Regina and Robin reached the Labyrinth, Robin felt Regina's magic wear off. Regina summoned a ball of light identical to the one that had led them through the Labyrinth in search of Emma, Mary Margaret, Liam, and Hook eight months before. Soon, they were back in the Throne Room.

Hades was on his throne, probably planning a victory party for successfully dropping Meg into the time portal. He looked up when Regina and Robin entered the room and his eyes widened slightly. "What are you two doing back down here?"

"Where's Megaera?" Robin asked.

Before Hades could answer, Megaera appeared to the left of Hades's throne. "You came back," she didn't sound like she really believed what she was seeing.

"Of course we did! Meg, I'm sorry--" Robin was cut off by Meg rushed over to her dad and hugging him.

"They told me you hated me," Meg's voice cracked.

"I could never hate you. You're my daughter."

Megaera pulled away from the hug and turned to face Hades. "They came back for me! You have to let me go now!"

Hades almost gave in and let her go without arguing, but he thought back to the deal he and Meg had made over two millennia before and he found a loophole. "Not quite. I said your parents had to come back for you, as in more than one. Robin is here, yes, but Zelena is not. Only one parent came back for you. Therefore, you may not leave."

"No, but you promised!"

"You should always listen for the tiny details when you make a deal."

Meg had grabbed onto Robin's arm and refused to let go. She felt about five years old again, but she didn't care. She was not about to come so close to freedom only for Hades to get technical. "You can't--"

"Wait," Regina interrupted, stepping in front of Meg and Robin so Hades wouldn't be able to get to them in case he decided he wanted a fight, "I qualify as a parent to Meg."

Hades laughed. "And what makes you think that?"

Regina held up her left hand, the engagement ring glistening on her ring finger. "I'm her step-mother. Two parents means Meg gets to go home."

Hades was too shocked to reply. He couldn't lose a fury! There was no way the Evil Queen could love Megaera enough to admit to being her step-mother. But apparently the love was real because a glowing wisp of white smoke entered Meg's body for the first time in over two thousand years. Her soul.

"No!" Hades cried, but there was nothing he could do now. Megaera was already a living human again. She looked up at Robin and Regina

"Can we go back to the Overworld now?"

"Of course," Regina replied with a smile on her face. Meg continued to hold onto Robin's arm as Regina used her magic to transport them back home to Storybrooke.

❃

They appeared on the banks of the pond and Meg let go of Robin's arm so she could look around. "What is this place?"

"This is Storybrooke," Regina answered. "This is where you were born."

"Really?" Meg's eyes were wide as she took in the strange modern-day town. Sure she had been around the Underworld, but this place was so much... brighter. And happier. And alive.

"Yes," Robin confirmed. "Now, would you like to meet the rest of your family?"

Meg nodded eagerly and Regina and Robin led her to the hospital where everyone was still awaiting their return.

❃
|The Hospital|
❃

Emma was pacing back and forth in the waiting room. Doctor Whale had tried to convince her to leave, but Emma adamantly refused and simply continued pacing. About thirty minutes after Robin and Regina left, Ruby and Mulan brought food from Granny's for everyone since no one wanted to eat the hospital food.

David had brought Hook and Baby Neal to the hospital by the time Robin and Regina got back with Meg.

"You did it!" Emma exclaimed when they entered the hospital. "You brought her home!"

Regina smiled at her friend and then down at Meg. "Of course we did. She's part of the family."

Meg looked up at her dad and step-mother. "Family?"

Robin nodded. "Yes. Whatever Hades told you about us hating you was a lie." Robin hugged his daughter and pulled Regina into the hug as well. "You're part of the family now."

Meg felt a smile grow on her face, and for the first time in the last two millennia, it was a smile born from joy.