Chapter 2

"Coming back from the dead and being a slave to the Wicked Witch tends to do that to you."

- Mr. Gold (4.11 Heroes and Villains)

Someone was standing in my hall.

Her red gown accented with black diamonds and lace was one I had never seen her wear, but the way she held her head high even as she trailed her fingers across the curve of my spinning wheel was unmistakable. The caress was as disdainful as it was fond remembrance.

I bowed when she turned, crouching on the floor, arms spread wide. One can never be too careful with spirits.

"You're supposed to be dead, dearie," I said, looking up.

Cora laughed, quite daintily, I must say. "Oh, Rumple. If I'm dead, does that mean you are too?"

I stood. I didn't have an answer for that. A death-dream would explain all the weird inconsistencies, like what in seven kingdoms had happened to my dining table. The hall looked far too empty without it taking up all the space in the middle. While I was trying to think, the door knocked.

"Mr. Gold?" the voice on the other side called. "I, I mean Rumplestiltskin. Er, Dark One? Oh, bother."

I rolled my eyes. That stammer. What the hell did the cricket want?

"Come in, dearie!"

"Oh, right." The door creaked open, and a dalmatian scrabbled forward, straining at the leash and growling. Dr. Hopper got dragged through the door behind his dog.

Odd. What happened to being a cricket?

"Quiet, Ursula. Down, girl."

Oh, this was good. I laughed.

"Let me guess," I said, holding up my hands as I walked over to where Hopper had managed to restrain the dog. I pointed at Ursula with both hands. "Cruella?"

Archie looked confused and shook his head. "That's not... I came here because I thought that you might... that you would, er, should..."

"Yes, yes! Get to the point!"

The psychiatrist/conscience human/cricket flinched. "Right," he muttered. He took a deep breath and dared to look me in the eye. "Belle," he said. "It's about Belle."

"What do you mean, he's gone mad?" Henry asked, but they had already moved on to the next link of the grapevine. He'd have to find out on his own.

There were only so many places that Grandpa Gold might go if he came back, but if he was crazy like Emma said he had been before she'd separated him from Neal, then he could be anywhere.

He decided to try the library first. It wasn't a very likely place, but at least he could let Belle know Mr. Gold was back if she hadn't already heard. There was a subtle shift in the gossip chain as he neared the library. No one was standing anywhere near the clock tower, but everyone kept glancing at the closed library doors. He inched the door open and slipped inside, dropping his bag next to the desk.

Muffled voices sounded from further inside. He found them in the back, near the end of fiction. Regina, Emma, and Dr. Hopper stood back while David and Belle hovered around an off-balanced Mr. Gold. He was turning back and forth, searching for something, but unaware of the books he kept knocking off the shelves and tripping over. David would catch him whenever he started to fall, but couldn't seem to hold on to him or get his attention.

Henry heard Gold mutter something about Belle starving in a cage, but when she tried to tell him she was right there, he looked up at her with no recognition. He looked right through her, then went back to his frantic search for nothing.

Belle stumbled back to lean against a shelf, sobbing.

"What's wrong with him?" Henry asked, making everyone turn.

"Henry," Emma said, coming over to wrap her arms around him. "Where have you been, kid? We were worried."

"I just took a long walk. I'm fine. What about him?"

"The spell on the town line collapsed, and he came back," Regina said, watching Gold.

"He seems to be in some kind of sleepwalking state," continued Archie. "Not recognizing where he is, or who he's talking to."

"Is this because he came back?"

Regina sighed. "We don't know."

"And until we know what's causing this," Emma said, "we don't know how to help."

"Right now, we're just trying to keep him from hurting himself," David said, trying to keep Gold corralled in the aisle.

Grandpa Gold shoved him aside like he wasn't even there and stumbled towards the door. Henry ran to block him, catching him in a hug. He struggled to keep moving, as if he didn't know he was caught, but Henry held tight.

"I'm sorry," he whispered. "Belle's safe. You're safe. Just please, wake up."

Gold stilled, a hand coming to rest on Henry's head. "Bae," he breathed, his eyes slightly more focused.

Henry's grip loosened, and he was gone, out the door and away, no longer stumbling, but full of furious energy. The library doors cracked their hinges as he left.

Henry glanced back at everyone else. After a shared moment of shock, they heard a scream.

"Oh, shit," said Emma, darting for the doors. The others followed.

They'd let an unhinged Dark One loose in Storybrooke.