Chapter Two: Dark One and Rumplestiltskin

David met them at the car, practically vibrating with nerves. He frowned when he saw Emma and Gold supporting Neal. The younger man had gotten some of his strength back, but he was still wavering a bit. "Emma, what's going on?"

"I'll explain on the way. We need to get out of here. right now." She shuffled to the car and shoved the door open, glad they'd brought David's police vehicle. Gold ducked inside without prompting, scooting over to drag his son in after him. Emma slammed the door as soon as they were in, then ducked into her own seat and snapped the seat belt in place. "Let's go."

David obediently pulled out, heading back to Storybrooke. "I'll call Snow..."

"Don't." Emma caught his hand. "We can't risk it."

David frowned. "Risk what?"

"The witch is Zelena. If we tip her off, we don't know what she'll do. If she's with Mary Margaret..."

"Crap." David's foot hit the accelerator.

Twenty minutes later, they pulled up at Mary Margaret's loft. Emma looked back at the father and son. "You two stay here."

Neal scowled. "We can help..."

"Yeah, and you could also give away our element of surprise. If Zelena doesn't know what happened in the woods, then let's not tip our hand. We might need that advantage later."

"Good girl." Gold nodded. "We'll wait here."

"Thanks." Emma glanced at her father. "Let's go."

"Way ahead of you." David grabbed his sword and ducked out of the car, Emma right behind him with her pistol.

They stormed into the loft. Mary Margaret was there. Zelena was gone, and a bathroom window was open. Emma cursed. "Damn it. I was hoping we could get her."

"She must have sensed our approach." David sighed and sheathed his sword.

The two of them went back to the kitchen, where Mary Margaret was sitting wide-eyed. "What's going on?"

"Zelena is the witch we're looking for. And that's just the start of it." Emma exhaled slowly to get her adrenaline under control. "We need to call in Regina and set up some warding here. And call Belle. We've got some news for her."

"I'll call Belle." Mary Margaret leaned across awkwardly to pick up the phone.

"I'll call Regina. David...you should probably go get our passengers. And make sure you aren't being watched. I'm betting she's got spying monkeys everywhere. Maybe even other spies." David nodded and went back out to the car. Emma pulled out her phone and dialed Regina. "Hey...we need you to come to Mary Margaret's place. And if you know a really good warding spell, that would be great. We know who the witch is, and there have been a few other interesting developments."

Regina agreed to come over. Emma hung up, just as Mary Margaret did the same. "Belle's on her way over." Mary Margaret looked at her. "Emma...what's going on?"

Commotion made both of them look at the front door, just as David and Neal staggered through it, both of them supporting Gold. The older man's face was set in a grimace, jaw clenched tight as he leaned against his son. Neal staggered, still shaky himself.

Emma darted over and caught Gold before he could overbalance Neal and send them all crashing to the floor. "Whoa. What happened?"

"Zelena is...not happy." Gold shook his head. "It...took me a little by surprise." He winced. "You'd better get me sitting down somewhere safe dearie. I expect it will get worse before it gets better. She's a vindictive one."

"Sofa." Emma helped Neal guide his father over, and both men collapsed on it. Gold exhaled a shuddering breath and leaned against his son's shoulder.

Neal put his arms around his father. "It's okay Papa. I got you."

"I know." Gold relaxed, eyes closing. "I know."

Mary Margaret was still staring. "I thought Neal was in the hospital."

Neal grinned. "I left." He looked at Emma. "Did you call Hook? He should be in on this."

Emma frowned. "He was supposed to be keeping you in the hospital."

Neal shrugged. "I called in a favor."

Emma grimaced. "He also kind of hates your dad."

Neal shrugged again. "He'll get over it. But he's a good guy to have at your back, and he knows more than we do. I don't think he was affected by the memory curse."

Emma winced, then caved. "Fine." She pulled out her phone and dialed. "Killian...hey, yeah, there have been some developments. Can you come over to David and Mary Margaret's apartment...Yeah, see you in a few." She hung up.

There was a knock on the door, then Regina entered, followed closely by Belle. Belle immediately spotted the two men on the couch. "Rumple!" She dashed over to embrace Gold.

Gold managed to sit up enough to reach out and hug her back. "Belle." His arm encircled her as he buried his face in her shoulder. Then he winced. "Careful sweetheart."

Belle pulled back. "Are you hurt?"

"In a manner of speaking..." He grimaced. "If you'd care to explain, Miss Swann."

"Explain what?" Regina tugged off her gloves and set them down with her purse and a small case she'd brought with her. "I thought we were looking for Gold and the witch, and Neal was in the hospital."

"Yeah...about that...it's a bit complicated." Emma grimaced, trying to sort out the best way to explain what had happened in the woods, when she didn't even know exactly how or why it had happened. "Let's wait till Hook gets here."

"If you're waiting on me, then by all means, start explaining." Killian came in and shut the door behind him. His eyes went to Neal. "I see you found him."

"Sort of." Neal grimaced. "Like Emma said, it's a bit complicated."

"Well, start at the beginning. You said you knew the witch's name." Regina folded her arms impatiently.

"Yeah. It's Zelena. The woman who was offering to be Mary Margaret's midwife. She's the witch. The Wicked Witch of the West, actually." Emma swallowed to try and alleviate the sense of dryness in her mouth. "It's Gold that's complicated."

"Indeed..." The older man laughed.

"Well, explain." Regina looked like she wanted to tap her foot.

"Sure. But I don't know everything. Still...here's what I do know." She took a breath. "Neal did something to bring Gold back. Whatever he did, it was supposed to kill him. A life for a life, that's what you said in the forest."

Neal nodded. "Can't tell you how I know that. I just do."

"Standard price of magic. Especially that kind of magic." Gold was back to leaning on Neal's shoulder, head tilted back against the sofa with Belle clasping his hands.

Emma huffed out a sigh of frustration. "Doesn't surprise me. Still...Neal was supposed to die, but Gold...he did something, joined them into one person. That's why he was screaming about the voices when David and I found him the first time."

Gold nodded. "And shortly after that, Neal took over, to mask our shared essence from the witch. And he went to Belle."

"Which is where he made contact with us. But then why leave the hospital saying you were looking for your father?" Hook frowned.

"Memories get fragmented between us. It's kinda confusing. Besides...I needed Emma to find my dad, so he could tell her who the witch was." Neal had his arm wrapped around his father, and he gave Gold's arm a reassuring squeeze.

"And that's where things get complicated." Emma swallowed again. "Neal found me, but then he started changing back into Gold. And he told me to separate them. So I did and now...well, now there are actually two Golds."

Regina jerked back. "What?"

Gold laughed, a short sharp bark of sound with no humor in it. "To be more precise dearie, there's the Dark One, whom Zelena is controlling through the dagger. And there's Rumplestiltskin. The original Rumplestiltskin, more or less. That would be me." He winced, jaw clamping shut as his face suddenly paled. Perspiration appeared on his face and he closed his eyes, pain lines gouging the corners of his mouth.

"Complicated...that's one word for it." Regina exhaled. "So...he's got your power and Zelena has him?"

"Not quite that simple." Rumplestiltskin took a deep breath and opened his eyes. "Willing sacrifice imparts it's own magic. Light magic, the direct opposite of Dark. The magic of sacrifice is much like that of True Love. In some ways it's the same, really. Because I willingly gave my life to stop Pan, I have light magic equivalent to my power as the Dark One."

"So you can fight him. And her?"

"One or the other. Not both. And it'll be tricky. He and I...we're still bound together somewhat. We affect each others emotions and mental balance. We can feel each other to a degree. For instance, right now..." He winced again. "Zelena is angry that we escaped, and that her cover was blown. And, as one might expect of someone of her temperament, she's taking it out on the Dark One. Punishing him through the dagger. And I...I can feel that." He grimaced, his hand clenching on Belle's.

"Can she control you with it?" David frowned.

"No. I'm not technically the Dark One at the moment, so she can't compel me or control me. But I can feel what she does to him. Though I can't...there's nothing concrete. I can't pull her plans out of his mind, or anything like that." He exhaled slowly, face gone nearly gray. "I can...help him fight the dagger a little. Fight her. It's harder to do at a distance."

"That's better than nothing." Regina's brow was furrowed. "You said the two of you influenced each other. How?"

Gold grimaced. "Aside from this?" He took another deep breath. "I've got a bit more of a temper. And he...I'm not sure." His jaw clenched for a moment. "Trust me, you're getting the best part of that deal..." The tension seemed to leave his body in a rush. "She's calmed down for now." He exhaled, then slowly pushed himself into a sitting position. "The bad news is, that means she's started thinking, and that's never a good thing."

Emma started to ask what he'd meant by 'deal', but Gold seemed to be contemplating something. Given his reputation as a strategist and a deal maker, as well as the fact that he was currently the best informed of all of them, she decided against interrupting him. The rest of them seemed to have had the same idea, though Regina had her arms folded, and she and Hook were both sporting impatient expressions.

Finally, Gold resumed speaking. "You know who she is, but not what she wants. Even I don't know that. That's a distinct disadvantage. She's more powerful than most of you, and she has all her memories of the past year. Really, you have only two advantages." His hand flicked into the air. "She doesn't know what happened to me. And, if my suspicions are correct, the Dark One is still bound to me. Which means he's still bound by our deal, even with Zelena's control. That gives you some protection."

Hook frowned. "What the hell does that mean? I thought being the Dark One was a curse."

Gold flicked a raw edged, sharp smile at him. "Oh, it is dearie. But it's not like other curses. The magic of the Dark One is sentient, alive in it's own way. Hence the...duality, of my nature. Taking on the Dark One's curse...it isn't like casting the Dark Curse. It isn't like any other curse you've ever seen."

Emma moved slowly so she could crouch in front of him. She didn't know why the next question was important, only that it was. "Can you tell us about it?"

Rumplestiltskin studied her face. Emma forced herself to keep her eyes on his. Belle had moved up to sit beside him, leaving Gold sandwiched between his son and his lover. His hands were clasped, one on each side, and Emma thought she saw Neal give his father's hand a gentle, encouraging squeeze.

After what seemed like forever, Gold relaxed and leaned back, just a little. "Yes. I can."

Emma felt some of her own tension drain away. "Please? I think it's important."

Rumplestiltskin nodded. "Very well, Miss Swann." He took a deep breath, his fingers folding over those of his supporters. His eyes never left hers. She had a feeling that he knew everyone else was in the room, hadn't lost track of their audience, but was still speaking only to her.

"There's only one way I know of to become the Dark One. Obtain the dagger, summon the one who's name is on the blade, and kill them with it." Gold's voice was cold, icy, but under the ice was something that Emma hoped she'd never be able to identify. It was dark, painful, ugly. "That killing, that murder, forges a contract between the murderer and the Dark Magic. With the Dark One. The power gains a physical form, a host with which to exercise and spread it's influence, obtain new knowledge, new power. In return, the host is granted whatever he or she desires, to the limit of magic's ability and their own strength." A slow, bitter smile twisted the corner of his mouth. "It's something of a trade really."

"A deal. Like the one I made with you."

"Like every deal that everyone makes with the Dark One dearie. That's why the Dark One makes those sort of contracts. It's the nature of the magic."

That actually made sense. A twisted, ugly sort of sense, but it made sense. "All magic comes with a price."

"Just like everything else in the world." Gold nodded.

Emma swallowed hard. She could feel it, the tension coiling within her, and within him, both of them knowing what her next question would be, and the importance of it. "What did you trade for?"

Rumplestiltskin's jaw clenched, pain flaring within his eyes. "For the power to protect the things I loved. First and foremost, my son. But also anything and everything else that mattered to me."

Emma felt like someone had replaced her muscles with tightly stretched wires. "Neal. What else?"

"Belle. Henry, as my grandson. You, as my student and Henry's mother. Regina for the same reason, and the Charmings, to a certain extent."

Emma nodded. "And she can't use him to hurt us, because of your deal?"

Gold grimaced. "She can force him. But he won't be as powerful. I doubt he'd be able to use a killing blow, but he can most likely use a crippling one."

"And that's an advantage that we can use."

Rumplestiltskin nodded. "Yeah." Then he closed his eyes and let his head fall back. The message was clear. He was done talking.

Emma stood up. She still felt strained, an odd humming energy rippling through her. "Okay."

David broke in. "We should go back to the farm house."

Hook grimaced. "Mate, she's likely long gone."

"But there could be clues regarding her goals. And there's a chance, however slight, that we might be able to free the Dark One." Regina pursed her lips thoughtfully. "Being a witch myself, that should probably be my job."

"Not alone." Emma shook her head.

"Of course not. I'll take Mr. Locksley. He seems to know the forest fairly well, and he has combat experience." Regina arched an eyebrow. "I'd recommend you stay with Henry."

Emma nodded. "Yeah. I gotta figure out something to tell him. I promised I would before I went out hunting today." She winced. Henry still had no memories of Storybrooke. More than that, he'd started getting way too suspicious of their time here. Not that it came as a surprise. Henry was a bright kid.

"Why not bring him by the shop? Or my dad's house?" Neal met her gaze. "Tell him a little truth?"

Emma considered it. "That...could work. But I can't tell him anything about magic. Or the Enchanted Forest. If I bring him by, can you follow my lead?"

"Yeah. Sure." Neal nodded.

"What about us? What do we do?" Mary Margaret had her hand entwined with her husband's.

"You stay here. Stay safe. Regina can put protections on this place. Hook can keep an eye on things." Emma glanced at the pirate.

Hook grimaced. "So I'm to be a watchdog again?"

Emma bit her lip. "I need someone I can trust. There aren't too many names on the list. Besides...I'll need to bring Henry back here, and he sort of likes and trusts you."

"Fine. As you wish." Hook sketched a half-hearted bow in her direction. "Any other instructions? Plans?"

Emma shook her head. "We'll have to wait until we either find something, or until Zelena makes her next move."

Gold grimaced. "And I doubt you'll have to wait long at that."

Emma found herself mirroring his expression. "Yeah. That's what I'm afraid of."

Author's Note: So...opinions on Gold's explanations? Who likes the interaction between everyone?