"There is no author," he says, his four words ringing around the room for both heroes and villains alike to hear. "There is a sorcerer, but I don't know who or where he is. Regardless, I doubt he'll stop this." The magic swirls in the air, and as Belle looks around she can tell that no one really knows what it's doing. Not Regina, or Maleficent. Only the man standing before them all, the man who lied to them all, has any clue of what is happening.
"What do you mean, there is no author?" Regina questions, hurt anger and sadness warring for dominance in her tone.
"It's like… like a friend of mine always says," he states as he looks anywhere but at her. "No one decides our fates but us."
"Why did you lie to us?" Cruella questions as she glares at the wizard. He doesn't respond for a moment, instead watching the magic they all helped bring into existence swirl between him and everyone else.
"Most of you wouldn't have helped me," he says finally, gaze sweeping over the Queens of Darkness as well as Hook, Regina, Emma, Snow and David. He looks back at the beautiful magic before continuing. "One of you wouldn't have let me." She knows he must mean her.
"What are you doing Rumple?" she asks him then. He winces at the very sound of her voice, looking like he might break down crying when he hears his name. But finally he steadies himself and locks eyes with her.
"I am so sorry," he tells her then, tears beginning to form in his eyes. "I am sorry I had to lie to you, and I never should have married you, not the way I did. It's just… I was too weak to say no. I love you Belle, so much, but you were right. There is something I love more than you." He raises his hands then, directing the magic to form a circle on the ground. Belle lets out a gasp when she sees what it is.
"Rumple, no!" she cries out. He waves his hand, freezing them all in place. She's helpless again, just like she was when he killed Pan. He gives her an apologetic smile as he summons the missing piece into his hands.
"I hope you find happiness with someone worthy of you." She wants to scream at him. She wants to tell him he is worthy, wants to say that they can find another way to do this. She can't. He steps over the circle, holding the missing piece in his hand. He stabs it downward as he falls to his knees, forcing it in to its spot. A second later he howls in pain, clutching his hand close to him as the mark sears itself into his flesh.
"Papa?" the questions comes for the one who immerged. Rumple looks at his son, a watery smile forming on his face.
"Bae," he chokes out. For an instant he gets to look lovingly at his son, knowing his boy will be alright. And then her true love is screaming, convulsing on the ground as unimaginable pain sears through him. The spell breaks then and she runs forward, screaming "Rumple!" as Bae yells "Papa!" And then they are on either side of him, Bae supporting him and keeping him from bashing his head against anything. That is all they can do as Rumpelstiltskin dies before their very eyes, again.
Your life is supposed to flash before you when you die. He knows that because he's died before. But this time, this time the events from Bae's death leading up to this moment are the only things racing through his mind. He had, of course, started plotting for a way to save his precious boy mere hours after Bae was gone. The first step had been just as much a necessity as it had been a desire. Killing Zelena had not solely been revenge, though admittedly that was the main reason. But no, he had also needed to start 'reverting'. Turn the heroes against him. Why? They always demanded reasons and answers when they thought he was good. It is so much easier to manipulate them when they are against him. Using their hate and fear is laughably easy.
The wedding. That was the best thing that had happened since Bae's death, and the only thing he hadn't planned. He hadn't wanted it, had known it would only hurt Belle in the long run. But when she had asked, when she had almost caught him lying long before he was ready and asked, he couldn't say no. He had just wanted it so badly that he couldn't resist it. He had been his typical weak self and done the selfish thing, hurting Belle even more in the process. He still can't really bring himself to regret it though. Belle Gold just sounds too perfect.
Why not tell her his plan? She would never condone it. For starters it required doing things no hero would be comfortable with, and second it involved his death. She would have told him they could find another way and would have tried her hardest. But there is no other way. No way to cheat the price for bringing the vault to the land without magic, no way to make the exchange anything less than a life for a life. No, as much as he'd wanted to, he couldn't tell her.
Step two had been easier than he had dared hope. Acting evil was something he was well practiced with, and it wasn't hard to slip back into his old yet slightly different game. It had been fun actually, being evil again, not letting the heroes discover his villainous deeds until he was ready. Step three, even though it involved nothing on his part, had been the hardest.
He had placed the gauntlet in the shop, hoping she'd find it, knowing the conclusion she would jump too. That hadn't made it hurt any less. She did exactly what he wanted, and that fact stung deeply. The pleas may have been fake, but the tears where very real. Her words cut so much deeper than he had thought they would, even though he was prepared for some, though certainly not all, of them. He chose his words carefully, making her anger and feeling of betrayal rise, though his rising desperation wasn't an act. She tells him that she tried to be everything for him and that saddens him. He is truly sorry that she couldn't be, that he couldn't let go of his dead son. He knew should, the price was so high, but this was Bae. And so when he told her he'd make it up to her he was doing it instinctively, a reassurance he instantly realized was a lie just like everything else he'd said lately.
He scrambled to try to ruin it again, claiming he could change. She informed him that he never had. He would get angry, demand to know what exactly happened when he sacrificed himself to kill Pan if it wasn't the fact that he had changed. But he couldn't get mad because this was exactly what he wanted. It was so very hard to remind himself of that when she said that all she could see in him now was the beast. She commanded him to leave and he pretended it was real, begging her not to do it. "I don't want to lose you," he had told her, a way to let her know he still cared. "You already have," she had responded, and even though this is what he had wanted, he had lost it then. He had told her truthfully that he was frightened and he was. He was scared of leaving town, of convincing the Queens of Darkness to help, of succeeding, of failing, and most of all of hurting her. Collapsing to the ground, sobbing her name, that hadn't been an act.
Everything had been relatively simple after that. Well, most people would say these steps were the hardest, but manipulating people always came easy to him. Still, standing outside the town, fearing that he'd been abandoned, he really had given up everything. He had thought that in his quest to save his son he had ruined any chance he might have had at happiness. But no, Cruella and Ursula had let him in. And despite his heartbreak over Belle he had played the game to perfection. Or perhaps because of it. He always did work the best when he was working to forget some pain.
And now, here he is. Dying. His only regret is the pain he put Belle through, lying to her. But he'd do it all again if it meant saving the one person who matters most to him in all the realms. Ironically, Belle had been half right when she'd accused him at the town line. He may not love her the most, but magic doesn't hold that place in his heart either. Bae does, and he will never ever give that spot away. He can't. Not that it matters now anyways. He's dying now, for his success.
Later they would ask if he died a hero or a villain. For a while, no one knew how to answer. He had done terrible things to get to the point he needed to get to. But then no one could argue that saving one's son wasn't a noble act. In the end, it was Bae's simple words that solved the debate. "He died just as he lived: being a good father."