August was in his room at the Granny's Inn, he was fast asleep and the room was a mess. He woke up with a pain in his leg, he tossed the comforter off of him as his legs shook and he grunted in pain. He tried to stop it from shaking and shifted his legs to the side of the bed but instead tossed himself out of the bed and onto the floor, his back hitting the dresser harshly.
After a few minutes, he finally stood up and stumbled toward a desk on the other side of the room, the desk was the only thing holding himself up at the moment. He slowly sat down in the chair, groaning in pain. He picks up the phone that was on the desk and dials a phone number.
He waited a few seconds until they picked up the phone. "Hey, you there?" he asked. "Good," he breathed out. "This is taking too long. We need to accelerate the plan."
Now, August standing far away from Mr. Gold's pawn shop, leaning against wooden boxes across from the shop. "It's almost nine," he called out. "You all set? You know what to do?"
"Operation Cobra is always ready," said Henry. "I just..."
"You just what?"
"I don't understand what this has to do with getting Emma to believe."
"Sometimes other priorities assert themselves. Can you handle a little improvisation?"
"Yeah. Can you?"
August smirked at Henry. "We're a go," he said. He gently pushed Henry toward Mr. Gold's place. Henry lifted up his hood and put on his bookbag while he ran toward the building. August walked in a different direction.
When Henry opened the door, the bell jingled and he pushed his hood down.
Mr. Gold slowly came out of his back room.
Henry smiled, still standing near the door. "Hey, Mr. Gold," he greeted the shop owner.
"Good morning, Henry. What can I do for you?" Mr. Gold asked, walking around the counter and toward Henry.
"I want to get a gift for Ms. Blanchard."
"Oh! I see."
"Since she didn't kill that woman."
"Good thinking."
"Are these bells?"
August opened the door from the back of Mr. Gold's shop, the door creaking softly and he slipped in through the crack. The bells tinkled softly but not to get the attention of Mr. Gold or Henry.
"See anything you fancy?" asked Mr. Gold.
"It should be something special, like pretty-sounding, but with authority," answered Henry.
"You're asking a lot from a bell," said Mr. Gold jokingly.
August stood still for a moment then he started walking and looking at all of the artifacts that Mr. Gold kept on the bookshelves.
"I like the first one the best so far," said Henry.
"Sometimes it's best to go with one's first instinct," said Mr. Gold.
August turned around and looked at the other artifacts on a desk on the other side of him.
The bells jingled once more.
August walked over to the desk. Looking curiously at it.
"This one's good. How much is it?" Henry asked.
"The price is marked," said Gold.
August walked pasted it on the other side and walked slowly, so he wouldn't miss the item that he needed.
"Wow. I was thinking more like five dollars?" said Henry.
August looked up at the bookshelves, scanning each shelf carefully.
"I have some tin whistles," said Gold.
August didn't hear Gold coming in as he kept looking at the artifacts on the shelves.
"May I help you?" Gold asked.
August turned around to look at the shop owner. Gold's face was hard and his brows furrowed.
"Yeah," said August. "I'm looking for some maps. I'm a bit of a collector."
"Yes," said Gold softly. "Well, there's maps through in the shop. This is my office."
"I thought this was the entrance," said August. Knowing that it wasn't the entrance at all.
"It's not," whispered Gold. "The shop is through there." He nodded his head toward the other direction.
August and Gold looked at each other, staring each other down. August finally walked away from the bookshelves and into the shop while Gold stood there, waiting until the other walked into the open shop.
Mr. Gold didn't trust him. He was wondering what he was looking for. And he will punish him for it. He didn't like it when people snooped through his things at all.
Emma had arrived at the hospital, she came marching into the room where Kathryn was staying. She needed answers. Quick. She was still confused about how Kathryn could be alive when Ruby found her heart in a box.
"Emma, come on it. Look who's awake," said Dr. Whale, who is standing next to Kathryn.
"Kathryn, hi," said Emma, who stood on the other side of her. "Listen, I don't want to take much of your time. But do you remember what happened?"
"I don't know much," said Kathryn, she closed her eyes for a moment and then looked at Emma. "I was in a car accident and I remember the airbag going off. And the next thing I knew, I was in the dark, in some basement. I didn't see anyone, but there was food and water." She looked over at Dr. Whales. "And then, I guess I was drugged?"
"Yeah. We're still trying to flush that out of your system," explained Dr. Whale.
Kathryn still looked at Dr. Whale while she spoke, "And then I woke up in a field at the edge of town and I started walking," she explained further then looked over at Emma. "That was it."
"You saw no one? You didn't hear a voice?" Emma asked. "Smell perfume? Cologne? Anything?"
She shook her head. "Nothing. No. I'm sorry. I wish I could help." She looked over at Dr. Whale. "Especially since..." She looked back at Emma. "While I was gone, you thought I was dead?" she asked confused.
"Your DNA matched the heart we found," explained Emma.
"They're grilling everybody down at the hospital lab, to see who doctored the DNA results," admitted Dr. Whale.
"Why would anyone do this?" asked Kathryn, looking between Dr. Whale and Emma.
"I think someone was trying to frame Mary Margaret," said Emma gently, tilting her head slightly to the side.
"But why?" Kathryn asked, wondering why someone would do that to Mary Margaret. "I mean, who would do something like that?"
Emma and Dr. Whale were thinking the same thing but neither of them had proof of who would do such a thing. Emma knew who it was but Dr. Whale didn't have the slightest clue on who it would be.
"You broke our deal," said Regina angrily to Mr. Gold.
"I broke one deal in my life, dear. And it certainly wasn't this one," said Mr. Gold, leaning over the glass counter of his shop.
"Kathryn was supposed to die, and Mary Margaret was to get the blame."
"Yeah, murder seems so much worse here, though, doesn't it?" He paused. "You can't just turn someone into a snail and then step on them, can you? You didn't say, Kill her. We agreed something tragic should happen to her. Now, abduction is tragic."
"The intent was perfectly clear," argued Regina.
"Oh! Let's not talk about intent. The intent is meaningless."
"Intent is everything."
"Please."
Mr. Gold and Regina stared at each other intensely for a second then he picked up a round rustic ball with bronze braiding around the top of it. He walked around and out of the counter, and into the main area.
"This is going to raise all kinds of questions about where she was and how the rest results were fake," said Regina, turning her body to face Mr. Gold while he put his artifact on the shelf that was next to different instruments.
"Oh, yes," Mr. Gold turned to face her and walked toward her, "and who put the key in her cell."
Regina didn't speak for a long time, she couldn't believe this was happening. She thought she would get away with it. She couldn't believe that her plan was falling apart. How could she be this stupid? "It's all going to lead to me, isn't it?" she asked. "You bastard!" She walked toward Mr. Gold. "This doesn't make any sense. You and I, we've been in this together from the start."
"Oh! Have we?" he asked.
"You created the curse for me, the curse that brought us here and built all this."
"Yes, it's about time you said thank you."
"Why did you do it?"
He took a breath in, taking a step closer to her. "Well, you're a smart woman, Your Majesty. Figure it out." He walked off while Regina stood there, speechless about what to do and why Mr. Gold would back down. She couldn't believe that this was happening to her. This was a solid plan and she thought everything through.
Two children were running back into their village, one of them had a stick in their hands and a few villagers were carrying things in their baskets, and two more children were playing with the other two, they were laughing and happy.
A man was pulling on a donkey and tugging on the rope while the donkey was braying. "Go. Come on. Come on. Come," he said to the donkey.
Two older boys were kicking a ball, back and forth to each other. One of the boys kicked it a little too hard and went in front of the guy and the donkey. The other boy hurried and tried to get it before it got run over by the donkey. But the boy fell over and he walked away.
The man stopped and turned to the boy who was now walking away. "Hey, hey...," he called to him as he dropped the rope and followed him. "What are you doing in the middle of the road, boy?" he asked.
The now limping boy was carrying the ball, he turned to look at the man. "I'm sorry! I..."
"Hey, I know you." Realizing who he is and who his father is. He started to panic a bit. "It's fine. It's fine. You know, it was the donkey's fault." He lifted his arm and pointed to his cart, which was attached to the donkey. You want chicken or some eggs..."
"That's all right. No. I should probably just..." Bae started to say.
"What's going on?" asked Rumplestiltskin.
The villagers stopped and stared at Rumplestiltskin—the Dark One—then moved out of the way.
The guy looked terrified, he started shaking a bit. "It's nothing. It was my fault. I wasn't looking where I was going, but he says he's fine."
Rumplestiltskin took a couple of steps and Bae took a step toward his father and whispered, "I'm fine, Papa. Really."
Rumple looked at his son. "Are you sure, Bae?" he asked in a whisper.
"Yes." Bae nodded and then glanced back at the guy. "I'm fine." He looked back at his father.
The guy nodded at Rumplestiltskin and he looked back at him with a glint in his eyes. "Well, I suppose it won't happen again."
"It won't," Bae said quickly, looking back over at the guy.
"No," he smiled out of fear.
"What's that?" Rumple pointed at Bae's leg.
The guy's smile dropped and looked at Bae's bleeding knee.
"It's nothing," Bae said quickly, backing away from his father.
"It's nothing!" repeated the guy in a panic.
"Da-da-da-da-da!" Rumple wagged his finger at the guy. "Don't bother." His hand was pointing at the guy and purple smoke was out of his hand and a darker purple was around the guy then he screamed in pain. The crowd was gasping and watching it all happen.
The dark purple smoke disappeared and revealed that the guy had turned into a small snail.
Bae and his father walked toward the snail.
Bae looked over at him and shook his head. "Papa, no. Please, Papa, don't. No, Papa! Papa!" Rumple lifted up his foot and crushed the snail underneath his foot, and the crowd exclaimed, their eyes wide. The crowd disperses. They were all scared and disgusted at what Rumplestiltskin did.
Rumplestiltskin wrapped his arms around Bae's shoulders and helped him walk back to their home.
Kathryn was still in the hospital, she was sleeping when David Nolan—her husband—arrived and he was at the foot of her bed while looking at her. He slowly walked to her side, he looked at her with sadness that Kathryn was in the hospital but he was also happy that she was alive and well. He leaned down and was about to kiss her on the forehead when her eyes opened and gasped in fright.
David pulled away quickly. "I'm sorry," he said.
"What are you doing?" she asked in a whisper.
"I was trying to kiss you on your forehead," he explained. "It was meant to be sweet."
Kathryn chuckled softly. "Well, thank you." She smiled at him for a moment. "It's good to see you."
"Kathryn, I'm sorry," he whispered. "I'm sorry I lied to you. I'm sorry I cheated on you. I'm just so sorry for all this."
"David, it's okay," whispered Kathryn. "You know, what we had, it wasn't it for you. Maybe for both of us. I can't blame you for just being the first one to see it."
He scoffed but he smiled at her. "You are kind of amazing," he complimented her.
She smiled back at him. "Yeah. I am." She teased, and they both laughed. "Now go on, get out of here so I can get some rest."
"I'm going to give you that kiss on the forehead now."
"Knock yourself out." She smiled as she briefly closed her eyes.
David smiled in return and leaned down, kissing her forehead gently.
Kathryn smiled once more when he pulled away and David looked down at her. He felt bad for doing this to Kathryn but he never really loved her but he did care about and she felt the same way. They both cared about each other but never truly loved one another. And they were okay with that. David looked at Kathryn once more before he walked out of the room.
Everyone was at Mary Margaret's and Emma's apartment, celebrating Mary Margaret's release from the jail cells. There was a sign with different colored paper and fairy lights were above the sign, and the sign said, Welcome Home Mary Margaret! People were sitting at the table or standing up, talking to each other.
Granny came through the door and gasped when she saw Mary Margaret, she smiled at her. "Hi!" she greeted Mary Margaret.
Mary Margaret looked up and over at Granny. "Hey," she greeted back, waving at her.
Emma was scooping out fruit punch into cups for everyone. She was happy that her friend was finally free and out of jail and found innocent.
Archie came over to Granny—who had a plate of food that was covered up. "How are you? Nice to…Would you like some?" he asked, holding a cup full of fruit punch in his hand.
Mary Margaret looked around the room for a moment. "All of these people, just to welcome me home?" she asked Emma, she looked over at her friend.
"You've got a lot of friends." She was still pouring the drinks into the cups.
"Didn't feel like that yesterday." She picked up the tray of drinks and walked over to a group of men. "Here you go."
"Great. Thank you. Thank you." One of the men said to Mary Margaret.
Henry was sitting down on the couch and was watching Mr. Gold who was in another room but Henry still could see him. He was worried about Emma and what he could have planned for his birth mother. He didn't trust him at all. "How was it?" he asked August, who was sitting next to him on the couch.
"Getting caught in his office?" August asked. "Not bad. I played it off."
"What were you looking for? Did you find it?" Henry asked, leaning in a bit with a smile on his face.
"Nope." He answered, leaning in as well. "But I have a feeling it's gonna find me." He looked up and stared at Mary Margaret. "There she is, why don't you just give her your present?"
Henry grabbed the silver present off the table along with a giant red contrition paper and stood up. "Hey," he said, getting Mary Margaret's attention.
Emma handed August a cup of punch, smiling at him.
"I have something for you." He gave her the present and the card.
"Well, thank you!" she said with a smile of gratitude. She opened the card and she read out aloud: "We're so glad you didn't kill Mrs. Nolan!" A few scattered laughs came out awkwardly and her smile was at unease.
"It's from the whole class. And I got you a bell." He lifted the silver present and shook it gently, smiling up at his favorite teacher.
Mary Margaret smiled down at Henry. "Thank you. Tell everyone I'll be back soon."
"Okay." He nodded.
"Henry, we gotta get you home before your mom finds out," said Emma. "That won't be pretty." She placed her hands on his shoulders while he hung his head. They walked toward the door and grabbed their jackets from the coat rack.
Emma opened the door and David was standing on the other side of the door.
"Hey, Henry. Are you leaving already?" David asked him, placing his hands on Henry's shoulders.
"Yeah," Henry said with a nod.
David, Emma mouthed to Mary Margaret, raising an eyebrow at her.
Oh, no, Mary Margaret mouthed back. She was surprised that he even came here.
"Gotta get home and do homework," said Henry, explaining to David.
Emma looked back at David. "She's kind of tired," she lied. "I think if you just give it some time…"
"But I just wanted to…"
"Hey, Henry, why don't you head home with David?"
"Okay." Henry smiled and nodded once while David looked back at him.
"Sorry," Emma said.
David sighed and looked down for a moment then nodded, "Okay." She gently closed the door.
"Hard to let him go, isn't it?" asked Mr. Gold. Emma slowly turned around to face him. "Your son."
"Yeah. Pretty much the hardest thing." She walked up to Mr. Gold, standing in front of him. "Speaking of something we weren't talking about, was it you?"
"Was what me?"
"Did you make Kathryn suddenly materialize? Because it sure played that way to me. Was that the magic you were going to work? Because if you kidnapped that poor, innocent woman, just to let her go…"
"Are you proposing I'm working with Regina or against her?"
"I don't know. Maybe diagonally."
"Well, you keep working on that one." Mr. Gold smiled. "My question is about something else. What do you know about him?" He pointed toward August and they both looked at him. He was talking to Dr. Whale.
"He goes by August. He's a writer. A typewriter wrapped in an enigma wrapped in stubble. Why?" Emma explained.
"He was poking around my shop today," said Mr. Gold. "'August Wayne Booth,' clearly a false name. If there's one thing I know about, it's names."
"Writers go by pseudonyms. What does it matter?"
"You trust him?"
"Yeah. A lot more than I trust you."
Mr. Gold scoffed.
Emma stared at him for a moment then walked away from him, leaving Mr. Gold standing alone while everyone mingled and having great conversations. She walked over to August and started talking to him.
Mr. Gold licked his lips and looked over at Emma and August. He didn't trust August at all and he felt like the other was keeping a secret from everyone and he was going to figure out what it was. Even if it kills him.
Rumplestiltskin and Bae finally made it home, Bae opened the door first and his father followed behind him. Onora—the maid—was folding their clothes when Rumplestiltskin closed the door and turned to face her master, her hands clasped together in front of her.
"Thank you, Onora," he said. "You can fetch our supper now, dearie."
She obeyed and went to get their supper.
Bae walked into the dining room and set his foot on the chair, pulling up his pant leg to reveal blood. "You killed that man," said Bae, looking over at his father.
"Well, you were hurt," Rumple said, standing beside him. "Speaking of which…" he lifted his hand and put it near Bae's knee, a purple glow surrounded his hand.
A few seconds went by and pushed his father's hand away. "No." He shook his head. "I don't want magic. It's just a scarp."
"Well, this will heal it." He lifted his hand and the purple glow was still glowing.
Bae set his foot down on the floor, pushed the chair in, and walked over to the accent cabinet, glancing over at his father. "So will this." He opened it, took out a small, circle box walked over to his father, and handed it to him.
"As you wish," he said, taking it as the purple glow vanished.
Bae sat down in the chair while Rumple opened up the box, taking out the contents of the inside of the box. He took out a small, brown cloth.
"You're different now. You see it, don't you?" Bae asked. "You hurt people all the time."
He placed the brown cloth on the table and placed his hand over his heart, leaning in a little. "I created a truce in the Ogres war, Bae. I walked into the field of battle and I made it stop. I led the children home! Surely a man who's saved a thousand lives…" he explained to his son.
"Is done," Bae interrupted his father. "A man who's saved a thousand lives can be done with it. You can stop doing things."
Rumple pulled out a small, green bottle and poured it over his son's scrap knee.
"Ow!" Bae winced in pain.
"I can't." He put the cork back onto the green bottle and setting it on the table, walked at the end of the table behind a chair. "I need more power, so I can protect you." He pointed at his son.
"I wouldn't need protection if you didn't have power," Bae protested.
"Well, I can't get rid of it!"
"Have you tried?"
"Tried." He walked closer to the table while taking out his dagger, which he kept in the hilt of his belt, and presented the dagger to his son. "Someone kills me with this, then they gain the power. Now, you know that, Bae. Is that what you want?"
"That's not what I want! I just think there might be other ways to get rid of the power. Have you looked for…" Bae trailed off when Onora came in with a pot of their food, they both looked at her and for a moment there was silence.
Onora came in and set the food on the table near Rumple, not saying a word or looking at the two.
"Well, you look for other ways, Bae." He put the dagger back into the hilt of his belt and sat down in the chair. "But don't get your hopes up." He waved his hand at her, basically telling her to leave them alone. He picked up a bowl and a ladle and scooped the food into the bowl.
"Papa." He moved his chair closer to the table. "If I find a way for you to get rid of the power, a way that doesn't kill you or hurt me, would you do it?"
"It's not possible," he said sternly.
"If it was, would you do it? Don't you miss how it was?"
"Are you really that unhappy, Bae?" he asked, setting the bowl down, picking up the other bowl, and scooping the food into the bowl. "I can conjure anything you desire. Name it. What do you want?"
"I want my father."
"All I want is your happiness, Bae. If you find a way, I'll do it," Rumple said softly.
Bae was finally happy that his father agreed to do it. He would find a way to get his father back, somehow. He missed the way things used to be. He would go to the ends of the earth to get his father back to his normal self once again. He loved and looked up to his father.
"Good." That was all Bae said as his father started to eat his food.
Bae took his hand and held it out for his father to shake and Rumple set down his spoon and took his son's hand and they both shook on it.
"The deal is struck." He smiled.
"Struck," Rumple whispered.
A gloved hand has a picking tool to unlock a door, after a few seconds the lock clicked and the door slowly swung open, creaking softly. Revealing Mr. Gold. He puts his picking tools into his jacket pocket as he walks into the room and closes the door gently behind him. He walked over to the desk where a typewriter was, a piece of paper is in the typewriter and he looked at it for a moment before his attention was on a handcrafted wooden dog. He lifted it up and examined it for a couple of seconds then he placed it down onto the desk where he had it.
There was a pile of paper; one of the papers had writing on it and the next one had a drawing. Of a dagger. Exactly like the one The Dark One has. Mr. Gold picked up the picture and looked at it in disbelief and shock.
August drew his dagger. How in the hell does he know about the dagger?
Mr. Gold has so many questions to ask August. He needed answers. Now.
Emma walked into Granny's diner, the bell jingled notifying everyone that someone had entered the building.
Sidney Glass was sitting in one of the booths and Emma walked over and sat across from him while he had a cup of coffee in front of him.
"Hey, Sidney," greeted Emma.
"Emma. Hey." He was shocked that she was here and talking to him. "So things certainly did work out. Didn't they? For your friend." He was talking about Mary Margaret being found innocent and Kathryn Nolan was found alive and healthy.
"You told me you could help me with Mary Margaret and I wanted to believe you. But eventually, there are things that even a blind sheriff cannot ignore." She pulled out the listening device out of her jacket pocket and onto the table in front of Sidney.
"Is that a bug?" he asked, playing dumb.
"Oh! For God's sake, Sidney, drop it. You fooled me, you spied on me and reported it all back to that sick, crazy woman. I can't even imagine what she has on you but it must be something huge."
"She's a good mayor." Trying to defend the woman he loved.
"She tried to get Mary Margaret convicted of a murder that didn't even happen. You're in a lot of trouble. There is a DNA trail in the basement of some house out there and I'm gonna find it. And she's gonna go away."
"Maybe. But I wouldn't bet against her. She's an amazing woman."
"Do you…" She paused for a moment. Realizing something. "Are you in love with her?" she asked.
Sidney didn't say anything, he kept his lips tight.
She sighed softly. "Fine. Whatever. Here's the thing, before you know it, I will have that evidence. And you need to think long and hard. You can either help me and help yourself, or you're gonna go down with her too." She slid out of the booth and walked out of Granny's diner, leaving Sidney behind.
August walked over to his motorcycle with his helmet on, he started up his motorcycle and drove down a road.
Mr. Gold was in his car, watching August ride away. He put his car into drive and followed him. He was going to find out what he knows and what he really is doing here in the first place.
A few kids from the village were playing with each other in the forest, they had sticks and playing swords. Rumple and Bae came across them.
"Hey, why don't you join in, Bae?" suggested Rumple, pointing at the kids. "I have some business nearby that would bore you." He patted his son's back gently and started walking off.
"All right." Bae nodded, walking over to the kids.
Rumple went up the small hill. The kids looked over at Bae and stopped playing. "Come on. Let's go," said one of the kids, and they all went in different directions, getting away from Bae. He sighed and walked across the large log. He wasn't even surprised that none of the kids wanted to play with the Dark One's son. He sat down on the log as he waited until his father was down with his business.
"Baelfire?" said a pretty girl. She has pale skin with rosy cheeks. A dirty blonde hair with blue eyes. She was wearing a deep blue dress with a brown belt and a long brown coat around her shoulders. She walked down to sit next to him on the log.
Bae turned and looked over his shoulder. "Careful, Morraine," he said gently. "You don't want to be seen with me." He looked forward with a frown. "I'm dangerous."
"They're just scared of your papa. But I'm not. You won't let him hurt me." She smiled at him and he smiled in return. "I don't think he's so bad, anyway. I saw him on the battlefield when he stopped the fighting. It was like a miracle."
"Now he's getting worse every day. But he said he'll change back if I find a way." He paused for a moment. "I just don't know where to look."
They both stayed silent for a moment before Morraine thought of something. "Reul Ghorm," she said.
He looked over at her, confused. "What?" he asked.
"I heard about it when I was in the trenches. The other soldiers talked about it. Reul Ghorm is an ancient being that rules the night. The original power."
"Bigger than Papa or worse than Papa?"
"Bigger than anything."
They looked at each other for a moment, not saying anything to each other when they heard some rustling nearby.
"He's coming back. Good luck to you," said Morraine, looking over her shoulder. She got up from the log and walked up the small hill she looked over at Bae and smiled at him.
Bae got up and walked over to his father, not saying anything to him.
"Your friend didn't want to say hello?" he asked.
"You frighten them."
"What is there to be frightened of, Bae? They'll get over that in time."
Bae looked down at his father's boots and then back up at him. "You have stains on your boots," he said.
Rumple looked down at his boots, not noticing it before. "Oh, yes, that. Uh…We need a new maid." He smiled at his son.
"Gods, no," Bae said loudly.
"She heard us talking about the knife," he said quickly.
"She was mute! She couldn't tell anyone!"
"Even mutes can draw a picture," he said, shrugging lightly. He walked past Bae and patted his shoulder when he passed.
Bae looked at him, he didn't know what to say or think but he couldn't believe that his father would kill the maid. He truly wanted to make his father good and it would take a miracle to help him change his ways.
Mr. Gold was following August, and August was talking to Mother Superior by a staircase at the church building. The two were talking intently, not aware that Mr. Gold was lurking nearby. August thanked her and walked away while Mother Superior watched him for a moment then she walked up the stoned stairs, not noticing that Mr. Gold was in front of her until he said her name.
"Mother Superior," said Mr. Gold. "Good afternoon."
Mother Superior walked closer to him. "Our rent is paid in full," she said.
"I'm not here about the rent." He shook his head slightly with a smile.
"Good day to you, then," she nodded curtly and smiled, taking a few steps away from him.
Mr. Gold turned and said, "Tell me, that man who just left here, who did he say he was?" He took a couple of steps toward her.
Mother Superior stopped in her tracks, turned to face him, and smiled.
"What did he want?" he asked.
"I don't have to tell you that."
"And I don't have to not double your rent." He threatened. "What did he want?"
"Advice and counsel. He came to town looking for his father after a long separation, and he recently found him."
"Ah! And a happy reunion has already taken place?" he asked, curiously.
"No. He hasn't spoken to him yet."
"And why not?"
"Mmm. It was a difficult parting. There are many issues to be resolved between them."
"I see," he whispered.
Mr. Gold was thinking that it could be his son but he's not too sure. He needs proof that it was his son but he needs to figure it out before August leaves town and never sees him again. He has been longing to be with his son once more. He wished he hadn't made that decision back then. He felt guilty for not being with his son again but maybe, just maybe, he could rekindle the lost time.
It was night, Bae was in the same forest where he and his father went, he had a lantern in his hand, looking around. He sat down as he took a moment to himself, setting down the lantern next to him. "Reul Ghorm, are you there?" he asked out loud. After a few seconds of silence, an owl hooted from a distance. "If you can help me, please make yourself known to me." He closed his eyes, wishing and hoping that Reul Ghorm to come and help him.
A blue glow shined behind Bae, it was the Blue Fairy that appeared, she floated down near Bae. When Bae opened his eyes and turned around, spotting the Blue Fairy, he jumped back slightly.
"Can you help me?" he asked the Blue Fairy.
"I can help," she answered.
"How do I know I can trust you?"
"Because there is good magic and dark magic. And I'm on the right side."
"You're a fairy!" he exclaimed.
The Blue Fairy chuckled lightly. "Oh! And you're not untouched by magic, are you, child? There is something dark in your life." She said, frowning.
"My father," he answered. "He is the Dark One."
"Oh! I can't make him the man he was before. But I can send him someplace where he won't be able to use his powers," she suggested.
"Not a jail," he pleaded. "I want to be with him. Like it used to be."
"Not a jail, young one. Just a place without magic."
"But magic is everywhere."
"In this world, yes. You see, what ails your father is specific to our realm. His powers do not belong here. You must go where you can escape this wretched curse. "
"Go? We have to leave?" he asked, sounding sad.
"Yes. It is the only way. Can you do it? Can you leave everything here behind for the unknown?" she asked urgently.
"If it means I get my father back, then yes." He smiled at the Blue Fairy.
"You're a very good son, Baelfire. You are the part of him that keeps him human. That little light inside of him still glows, that's his love for you," she said wistfully. "Hold out your hand."
Bae slowly held out his hand and the Blue Fairy lightly tossed something small into his hand, it glowed white and blue in his hand. It looked like a small pebble.
"What is it?" he asked, looking at it and then at the Blue Fairy.
"A magic bean," she answered. "The very last one that is known to our kind. The other got away from us."
Bae took the bean between his thumb and pointer finger, looking at it closely. Curious about it. He had never seen anything like this before.
"You just use it wisely. You follow wherever it leads you. It will save you both."
Bae looked at the magic bean again, wondering about all of the possibilities that he could have with his father in this unknown world. He was so happy that the Blue Fairy had answered his wish.
The Blue Fairy disappeared while Bae wasn't looking, he looked up and looked around him. Once more, he looked at the magic bean in his hand, still couldn't believe that he had something to help his father. He could actually get his father back. Just like before and he was beyond happy.
He closed his hand over the magic bean, grabbed the lantern quickly, got up, and ran back home to his father. Hoping that his father would go through it.
David Nolan was walking down the sidewalk when Mary Margaret left a building. He turned around when he heard footsteps behind him. "Mary Margaret," he said.
Mary Margaret ignored him and kept walking.
"Please wait," he called out. "Look, I'll leave if you want." He started following her. "I just think we need to talk."
"So talk," Mary Margaret said, still walking.
"I need to apologize."
"Yes, you do. Keep going."
"I didn't believe you. I didn't stand with you."
She walked to her car, placed her hand on the car handle, and paused for a moment. She turned and stood a foot from him. "You know, I will never forget that moment. The moment the world sort of blows you backward and the one person you thought would always be there to catch you, isn't there.
"Look at what was going on. It was your jewelry box, your fingerprints, knife in your apartment."
"It was a setup!" Mary Margaret snapped.
"And a really good one."
The two didn't speak for a good minute before David broke the silence.
"I'm human. I fell for it. I'm sorry, but we have to move forward."
Mary Margaret shook her head and smiled sadly. "But we can't. It's like something in this world doesn't want us together."
David scoffed. "Like what? Dark forces?" He joked.
"Maybe." She shook her head. "I don't know. But it's like something just keeps pouring poison between us, and what I don't want is to have all of those good memories replaced by moments like that. When I looked at you, I saw that you didn't believe me."
"No, I know," he whispered sadly. "I'm so sorry."
"I know." She sighed heavily. "I know."
"But I love you," he whispered.
She closed her eyes for a moment and smiled sadly. "And that is what makes it all so sad."
"Papa!" he exclaimed. "Papa!" He sat down in the chair in front of his father. "I found it. I found a way for things to be like they were." Rumple stayed silent. "I want you to come with me. I can make things right. Have you heard of the Reul Ghorm?"
Rumple kept spinning until Bae asked that question. He looked at Bae and smiled. "Blue Star." He leaned in. "The Blue Fairy. Oh! Son, please tell me you didn't. Fairy magic doesn't mix well with what I am."
"But you promised," he pleaded. "She can help us. To take us to a place without magic."
"A place without magic?" he asked like he couldn't believe such a thing. He stood up and scoffed at the thought of a land without magic. "I'd be powerless. Weak." He walked around the table while Bae's eyes followed his father.
"Like everyone else. It wouldn't matter. We'd be happy."
"We can be happy here," he said, stretching out his arms.
"Father, please. You're getting worse. And you promised. This can work. It can." Bae stood up from the chair and faced him. "You made a deal with me. Are you backing out?"
Rumple turned his back to his son and took two steps into the living room then turned back to Bae, opening and closing his mouth. "No," he finally answered.
Mr. Gold stood outside a door and hesitated on knocking on the door, but he knocked on the door lightly, anyway. A soft sigh left his lips as he took a few steps away from the door. As soon as he walked the steps, the door opened.
Dr. Hopper peeked out of the door, wondering who it was. He stepped out and his eyebrows crinkled together. "Mr. Gold. Are you here for the rent?" he asked.
Mr. Gold turned halfway, looking at Dr. Hopper. "Why does everyone ask that?" he asked, irritatedly.
"Well, because you…," Dr. Hopper stuttered. "Never mind." He came out into the hallway. "Would you… Would you like to talk?"
Mr. Gold shook his head, uncertain. "I don't know," he replied.
"Well, if you'd like to get something off your chest," Dr. Hopper took in a breath, "please come in.
Mr. Gold stared at Dr. Hopper for a good minute, before he slowly walked into Dr. Hopper's office.
"A son!" Dr. Hopper exclaimed, shocked by what Mr. Gold revealed to him. "Wow, I didn't know you had a son. How old is he?" he asked the other.
"Let's start with something easier," Mr. Gold said gently.
"Okay," Dr. Hopper stuttered. "What do you mean to say that you may have found him?"
"Let's just say there's something acting the way I would expect him to act."
"So you recognize him?"
"Maybe. Or perhaps I'm just seeing what I want to see. I don't know."
"Okay. Well, I mean, wouldn't he recognize you?"
"There was conflict." Mr. Gold paused a moment, staring at the table that was separating the two. "I'm not sure he'd ready for a tear-soaked reunion."
"So he sought you out and he's hanging back. Maybe he's watching to see if he's welcome, looking for a sign that all is forgiven." Dr. Hopper suggested.
"No, no, no, he's not the one who needs to be…," Mr. Gold stopped abruptly, looking at Dr. Hopper. "I think he might still be very angry."
Dr. Hopper didn't speak, trying to find the right words and not angering Mr. Gold. "Anger between a parent and a child is the most natural thing in the world," he finally said.
"I think he might be here to try to kill me," Mr. Gold admitted.
Dr. Hopper looked at him. Shocked. "Ah!" Was all he could say at the moment. "Right. That's not…" he stumbled over his words.
"I let him go." Mr. Gold fixed his eyes on the table once again. "I've spent my entire life trying to fix it. And now he's finally here…I just don't know what to do."
"Be honest," Dr. Hopper whispered.
Mr. Gold looked at Dr. Hopper with sad eyes.
"Just tell him what you told me, and ask him for forgiveness. And when you're face to face, you'll know what to do," Dr. Hopper said, trying to help him in any way possible.
"Honesty's never been the best color on me," Mr. Gold admitted.
"But there's no other way," Dr. Hopper said gently.
Mr. Gold was pondering about this, wondering if he should confront his son or not. he needed some time to think about this. He wondered if he was going to do this. He was afraid that he would confront his son because he didn't know that his son was going to kill him.
Would his son kill him? Or would he have a heartfelt conversation with him? He would never know until he made up his mind.
Mr. Gold was outside of a log cabin, watching August walking down the side of the ocean. August stopped and looked over, seeing Mr. Gold walking toward him. Confused about why he was here. Neither of them said a word for a few seconds.
"I know who you are," Mr. Gold said, standing a couple of feet away from August.
August walked a bit closer to Mr. Gold, listening to him.
"And I know what you're looking for," Mr. Gold continued.
"Well, then, I guess all the lying can stop, Papa," said August.
Rumple and Bae were walking into the Enchanted Forest, Bae was trying to look for a good spot for them and not let anyone else see them when it happened. Bae was so excited to spend time with his Papa and feel like a real family again. Having his father back. Having a normal life.
"Where are we going, boy?" Rumplestiltskin asked, slightly out of breath and following his son. "What kind of world is this we're going to? What kind of world is without magic?"
They stopped walking and Bae turned to his father, holding up the clear bean. "A better one," said Bae.
He turned and threw the bean onto the forest floor, just a foot away from them. They both looked at the bean and a blue sparkle came around the bean then it turned green, it was spinning around and around, getting bigger and the ground shook hard.
"My gods, boy. It's like a tornado!" shouted Rumple.
"We have to go through it," shouted Bae, turning to his father.
"No, no! I don't think I can!" shouted Rumple, having second thoughts about this.
"We must. It's the only way." Bae was about to jump into the green vortex.
"No, no no, no, no! It's a trick! It will tear us apart!" shouted Rumple, tugging on Bae's arm.
Bae turned to look at his father. "It's not. It will be okay. I promise," he assured him. His foot slipped and was dangling inside the vortex. "Papa!" he screamed. "We have to go through! What are you doing? Papa, it won't stay open long! Let's go!"
Rumple was holding onto Bae as long as he could. "I can't! I can't!" he said.
"Papa, please! It's the only way we can be together!" Bae shouted, looking back and forth between his father and the vortex.
"No, Bae, I can't!"
"Papa, please!" begged Bae.
"I can't!"
"You coward! You promised! Don't break our deal!" yelled Bae. He was getting angry now.
"I have to!" Rumple released Bae's hand and Bae slid down the green vortex.
"Papa!" he screamed, trying to hang on the dirt but he couldn't.
The green vortex had disappeared once Bae slipped into it. Rumple looked at the now empty hole, panting slightly. He looked at the hole for a few seconds, waiting for Bae to come back out.
"Bae," Rumple called out. "Bae!" he yelled. Hoping. Wishing. That Bae would call back to him. He went into the deep hole, "No, no, no, no, no! No, no, Bae!" he said panicking, digging the hole deeper. "I'm sorry, Bae! I want to come with you! I want to come with you, Bae! I want to come with you!" He kept digging at the dirt pile. "Bae! Bae! Bae!" he yelled into the dirt.
"You were right, Bae," said Mr. Gold. "You were always right."
August looked away from Mr. Gold but he was still listening to the man.
"I was a coward and I never should have let you go," Mr. Gold continued talking. "I know it's little consolation, but I just want you to know that ever since you left, ever since you crossed the barriers of time and space, in every waking moment, I've been looking for you. And now that I have finally found you…" He started tearing up. "I know I can't make up for the past, for the lost time." He stood in front of him, looking him in the eyes. "All I can do is ask you to do what you've always done and that's to be the bigger man, to forgive me."
August looked down, he couldn't look him in the eyes while he was listening to his apology.
"I'm so sorry, son."
August sighed while he chewed on his bottom lip.
"I'm so sorry, Bae," Mr. Gold's voice shook.
August walked over to him and hugged him tightly and Mr. Gold hugged him just as tight.
"My boy," Mr. Gold sobbed. "My beautiful boy! Can you truly, truly forgive me?" he asked.
"I forgive you, Papa," said August.
The two hugged each other for a few more seconds before they broke away from the hug, and looked into each other's eyes.
"You were looking for the knife," said Mr. Gold.
"I thought that if you still had it, it would mean that you hadn't changed."
"Well, let's go and find it and see."
August and Mr. Gold went into the middle of the woods, August started digging while Mr. Gold stood and watched as the other dig.
"I buried it here shortly after Emma came to town," said Mr. Gold, explaining to August. "Things were changing. Didn't want to take the chance of Regina finding it."
"Of course."
"It should be right about here some…" Mr. Gold bent down and started digging a bit with his hand. "Here, look, look." He took out the knife that was covered with a brownish cloth in his hands. "Here." He unfolded the knife and slowly took it out of the large cloth, he stood up and August was staring at the dagger. "I want you to take it." He held it out for him to take the dagger. He took a step closer to August. "Destroy it the way I know you always wanted to. I found you and I don't need it anymore. I chose it once. Now I choose you." He smiled.
August slowly took the dagger into his hands and looked at it, not fully believing that Mr. Gold gave it to him. He slowly turned it over in his hand. "It's remarkable," he said, looking back up at Mr. Gold. He lifted it up and pointed it to Mr. Gold and looked at him straight in the eyes. "By the power of the darkness, I command thee, Dark One."
"You're trying to control me?" asked Mr. Gold, confused.
"I command thee, Dark One!" August yelled.
Mr. Gold took a step closer to August. "You are not my son," he said in a dark voice.
August was now scared that he figured out that he wasn't Mr. Gold's son, he knew that he couldn't keep up the act for long once he found the dagger to control the Dark One. But he had to try. Right?
"You're not Baelfire," said Mr. Gold.
"Papa, why would you say that?" August asked, trying to play it off. "I'm just trying to use your power to help…"
"Enough!" yelled Mr. Gold, interrupting August. "It's over, Booth. Or whoever you are. My son would never try to use me." He pointed his finger at him. "And he would know that this knife cannot harness any magic in this world because there is no magic in this world."
August looked down at the dagger. That's why this dagger isn't working, he thought.
"That's why he chose this place. He didn't want me dabbling." Mr. Gold took the dagger back into his hand and August grunted as he yanked it from his hand.
"So why bury a useless knife?" August asked.
"Oh! I wouldn't say it was useless. Still cuts through flesh rather nicely. It's about time you started answering some questions, sunshine. Why the theatrics? Why didn't you just come to me?"
"I needed you to work for it. I needed you to want it so bad you would ignore what your eyes were seeing. Do I even look like him at all?"
"How do you know about this knife?" Mr. Gold asked.
"I hear things," August replied.
"No one here knows about this knife," he said, pointing the dagger at August and walking towards him with it.
August backs away from the dagger. "No one here remembers," said August.
"And yet you do. You're from here, aren't you? From my world?"
"The fact that you're asking the question means you know the answer."
Mr. Gold exhaled and looked down at the dagger. "Well, now that that's settled…" He pushed August up against the tree roughly and held the dagger to his neck. "How about my other question? Who told you about me and the knife?"
"A little fairy," August answered.
"Why did you want it?" asked Mr. Gold. "If you know who I am, then you know who I am. The chances of you surviving this little encounter are pretty slim. So why take the risk?"
"Because I'll die anyway," said August.
"What?" Mr. Gold asked, concerned.
"I'm sick. I'm sick and I need magic. I was gonna get the savior to believe, but that woman…" August started to laugh a bit. "I don't think I'm gonna make it long enough to see that happen."
Mr. Gold puts the dagger closer to his neck. "She trusts you," he said. "It might be enough." He pulls the dagger away from him. "Try again," he whispered. He walked toward his walking stick and picked it up from the ground.
August watched Mr. Gold for a moment. "You're gonna let me live?" he asked, not believing his eyes.
"You're gonna die either way," Mr. Gold said, waving the dagger back and forth slightly. "This way, at least I might get something out of it." He smiled and walked off, leaving August at the tree.
August stared at Mr. Gold then he looked down at the floor of the earth and slid down the tree. He couldn't believe that he survived and didn't die at the hands of the Dark One. But he was thankful that he had a little bit longer to live. And maybe, just maybe, he could survive. If only Emma could just believe in the magic. Before it's too late for him.
Rumple was out of the hole, looked up at the sky, and yelled, "Reul Ghorm! Show yourself!"
Silence.
The Blue Fairy appeared and slowly moved toward him, but Rumple didn't notice that the Blue Fairy was behind him.
Rumple turned around and looked at the Blue Fairy. "How do I follow him?" he asked.
"You had the way. You didn't take it. And there are no more magic beans," the Blue Fairy replied.
"That's a lie!" he said, not believing her.
"We don't do that."
"A lie," he repeated.
"You will never make it to that world," the Blue Fairy said, sadly.
"Well, I'll find a way," said Rumple, determined to find his son. "There must be other paths. A realm-jumper?"
"No," said the Blue Fairy.
"A time-turner?"
"No."
"A mage?"
"There is no…"
"A curse?"
The Blue Fairy hesitantly answered, "No."
"Ah!" exclaimed Rumple. "So it is a curse.
"Of course, you would think if a curse instead of a blessing," said the Blue Fairy, irritably. "Your magic is limited by its own rotten core, Rumplestiltskin. Anyway, it can't be done. Not without a great price."
"I've already paid a great price."
"So you'd be willing to sacrifice this world for the next? Because that's ho great the price is."
"Well, what do you think?" he asked.
"Well, then I'll comfort myself knowing that such a curse is beyond your abilities."
"Oh! For now. But I have got all the time in the world. I will do nothing else. I will love nothing else! I will find a way. You took my son." He pointed his finger at the Blue Fairy. "But I will get him back."
She shook her head. "I didn't take your son," she said.
"You took my son! But I will get him back!" he yelled, angrily.
"You drove him away."
Rumple balled up his fists and swatted his fist at the Blue Fairy but she flew back fast then he swung his fist again and she flew back once again, gasping. She flew away from Rumple, and fast. She didn't want to be near him anymore.
"I will find him!" Rumple yelled. "I will find him! I will find him."
Emma walked into the police station the next morning and stopped short when she spotted Regina, who was sitting on the edge of one of the desks—waiting for Emma. Neither of them said a word, but Emma walked in further.
"Congratulations, Sheriff Swan," said Regina. "There is about to be a big break in your case. You just got yourself a confession. But I want you to listen to the whole explanation, so you understand why this happened." She got off the desk and stood up straight.
"I'll hang on every word you say," Emma said.
"Sidney, you can come in now," Regina called Sidney over.
Sidney slowly walked into the room, looking at Emma and then at Regina.
Emma was confused and thought that Regina was going to confess. Not Sidney.
"Tell her what you told me," said Regina gently.
"It was me. I confess. I abducted Kathryn and I held her in the basement of an abandoned summer home by the lake." He looked over at Regina with sad eyes. "I bribed a lab tech to get me the heart from the hospital and I used that same person to doctor the lab results."
"And the other thing," Regina encouraged him.
"I borrowed some skeleton keys from Regina and I planted the knife in your apartment."
Emma didn't believe a single word that was coming out of Sidney's mouth. She gently shook her head.
"My keys," said Regina. "I can't help but feel personally violated about that part."
"And I am supposed to believe you did this for why now?" Emma asked.
"I was gonna find her after the conviction, be a hero, then get the inside track on the biggest story to ever hit this town. I'd get my job back, plus a novel and a movie and…I don't know. It sounds crazy now," he explained.
Emma crossed her arms over her chest and walked closer to Sidney. "I don't know about crazy. But false, yes. False as hell."
"I have maps to where the house is. You'll find chains in the basement. Lots of fingerprints, I'm sure, hers and mine. But I didn't hurt her."
Regina walked closer to Sidney. "The man has obviously suffered some kind of mental break," she said. "He clearly hasn't been himself for a while."
"Yeah. It's like his words aren't his at all," Emma said, staring hard at Sidney.
"Wow. You are so sold on your own rush to judgment that you can't even see the truth anymore," said Regina, looking at Emma.
Emma turned her head toward Regina, her eyes narrowed. "A word in the hallway, please," she ordered. She walked out of the room and down the hall, where the plaques are that are in the glass case.
Regina looked at Sidney for a long moment before she clicked her tongue, walking down the hall to talk to Emma.
"Well, that's the biggest load of crap I've ever heard," Emma said.
"I'm pretty sure that's not true," said Regina.
"That poor man. I know you were behind all of this. I understand that you own the game and that you've set the board so that no one else can win, but I am about to start playing an entirely different game." Emma walked closer to Regina. "I don't care about what happens to you. I don't care about what happens to me. All I care about is what happens to my kid."
Regina gave Emma a hard stare, not backing down.
"And you are going to leave him alone."
"Am I?" Regina asked, tilting her head to the side slightly.
"Uh-uh. I'm talking. You are a sociopath, lady. You tried to take away someone that I love and now I'm gonna take away someone you love. I'm taking back my son."