Once Upon A Wonderland~ Killian Jones

The Final Stand

I squeezed my eyes shut, gripping my cup of tea in an attempt to shut out everything that had just happened. But I couldn't keep replaying the image of Phil's terrified face in my head over and over again.

"Don't worry about Hades, we're safe in my vault. Here," Regina said, handing me a bag of fruit snacks. I raised my eyebrows. "What? Henry likes them."

I opened the bag with trembling fingers, letting my mind become preoccupied with the gummies. "Thank you for everything, Regina." I said gratefully. Regina settled into the chair next to me, her face troubled.

"Don't mention it. But I have to ask... how do you know Hades?"

She doesn't waste time, does she?

I raised an eyebrow. "How do you know him?"

"You first." She raised an eyebrow, fixing me with a look.

I sighed, averting my eyes from her probing gaze. "A couple weeks ago, after the explosion, I figured out who I was back in the Enchanted Forest. Turns out, I'm not from the Enchanted Forest; I'm from Olympus. I'm Megaera." The words tasted bitter in my mouth.

Regina raised her chin knowingly. "You killed Hercules."

I glared at her. "I didn't want to. As you saw outside, Hades has my soul. He used me to do his dirty work. Hercules..." I looked down at the bag of fruit snacks angrily. "Let's just say I've regretted that moment ever since it happened."

Regina's eyes narrowed. "And now Hades is back to use you again."

"Exactly." I swallowed a lump of trepidation, an image of Killian flashing in my mind. I couldn't help but picture the same fear that was on Phil's face on his, knowing that if I didn't find a way away from Hades soon, what had happened with Phil would be repeated with a much worse outcome.

"What does he want from you?" Regina asked.

I tightened my fingers around the mug of tea to steady myself, and then I told her everything. How Killian had the power to destroy Hercules, how he wanted me to kill him, and how I could never, ever do that because despite how infuriating, annoying, and cocksure he was, "I love him." I choked out. Relief flooded my chest at allowing myself to say it aloud.

Regina sighed, looking away. "That certainly complicates things."

"It doesn't matter, anyways. Hades will be back soon." I grimaced.

"We'll be ready for him. Contrary to what he believes, he can't do whatever he wants in my town." Regina snarled, her expression darkening.

"Speaking of, how do you know him?" I questioned, becoming suspicious. Regina

Regina pursed her lips. "Before the curse came-" she paused, shaking her head. "Before I cast the curse, Rumplestiltskin warned me about the Gods and Olympus. He said they were too powerful to be taken with the curse, and that they would not be happy that I took everyone from their land. See- well, you probably already know this- the Gods take their power from the belief of their followers. So when I took all of their believers away..."

"You took away their power," I finished, my eyes widening. "That's why Hades is weaker here. No one actually believes he exists."

Regina cringed. "Yes, and no. Hades originally tried to stop me from casting the curse, but when he learned that it would weaken the Gods, he made a deal with me. In exchange for me letting him keep a portion of his followers- to fuel his own power- he would help me cast the curse. He was still hung up on the idea of taking over Olympus, and he thought that he could do it if the other Gods didn't have any power." Regina explained.