AN: This is canon up to what has already been seen this season. I will try to keep it as canon as possible as the season continues. Updating may be slow at first as I finish up with this school year, but I wanted to get this prologue up before the next episode came out. This is also probably going to be a lot longer than most of my other stories, but I hope that you enjoy and stick with me until the end, because I'm very excited about this one. ENJOY!

Prologue:

"You will be reunited with your son, and it will come in a most unexpected way. A boy, a young boy will lead you to him. But beware Rumplestiltskin, for that boy is more than he appears. He will lead you to want you seek, but there will be a price. The boy will be your undoing."

After 300 years, the words of the Seer had not faded one bit. Rumplestiltskin could hear them as plainly as the day they were spoken. As the fulfillment of those words came into his life, he knew that the time was coming for him to get rid of that boy, the one who was his undoing. Finding out that Henry was his grandson didn't make any difference for him; the boy would not be shown any mercy. Unfortunately, there were many people who stood in his way. He needed some way to make them all disappear. Another realm would be the perfect solution, but the magic beans were far from mature. He would need a lot of magic that he simply could not gather in this land if he wanted to send everyone away. At the least, the Charming family and Regina would do everything in their power to stop him, and needed to be taken care of.

Rumple scoured the shop, hoping to find something that he may have overlooked. His memory was excellent, but even he couldn't be perfect, right? Maybe there was something that had escaped him, a bit of magic that would aid him in his quest. Luckily, the town was quiet today, and he was undisturbed as he searched. He moved quickly from the front room to the back, discovering all the forgotten treasures stored there.

Just when he was about to give up, the only answer there could be came to him. Buried under books covered in dust, a small jar containing a single strand of gold thread was his salvation. The gold, barely a hair's width, spun from the coarsest straw on a dark, desperate, painful night, was once the method he would have used to keep someone he cared deeply about as close to him as possible. Now it would be the way to get people away, far away.

He pocketed the thread, thinking of a way to get everyone together. The small bit of magic contained in the gold would only be effective if combined with the magic of the well. Getting all the necessary players to the well would be quite difficult, but if he could find the thread, he could get them to the well. One way or another. He placed a few phone calls, and soon his plan was underway.


"Why did Mr. Gold ask us to the well?" Mary Margaret asked David as they walked through the forest.

"He didn't say why. I assume he wants our help trying to get Belle's memory back. Magic took her memory away, it may be the only way to return it," David said.

"Why do all of us have to come?" Emma asked.

"I assume we'll find out when we get there," Mary Margaret said.

Their curiosity was satisfied in moments when they came in sight of the well. The surprise at the call was nothing compared to the surprise of seeing who was already at the well.

"Regina!" Emma called out, pushing her mother behind her in an effort to protect her.

"What are they doing here?" Regina demanded, turning on Gold.

"All will become clear in time. Now, I need you all to come closer," Mr. Gold said. No one moved, still suspicious of all that was going on.

"You see, I need all of your help with a very special project. It requires a fair bit of magic, and I believe that only with all of your magic combined will I have enough," Gold explained.

"Is this about Belle?" Emma asked. "I think we've done about all we can to help her."

"There's still more that can be done. The water here is the only way," Gold replied.

Hesitantly, the four walked up to the well, allowing the stone structure to come between the Charming family and Regina.

"Don't worry, I will take very good care of everything." Gold dropped the enchanted thread into the well, and whipped up a wind to push the others into the water. Their struggles were in vain, and they quickly disappeared, and soon, there was no one to stand in his way.