Chapter 3

Chapter Text

"He didn't," my mom said, "it can't be! He's way too smart for that."

She looked at me, then at my dad, and back at me. "No," she answered our sad looks, "no, it's not possible, he's the most powerful, the most clever -" she looked at me, her eyes going wide, "is this how we got home?"

I couldn't believe she figured it out so quickly. My face must have shown it, because she explained, "he told me that he could only defeat Pan by dying. But then I advised him not to kill Pan, just take away his magic. Didn't he have that cuff?"

"What," my dad looked very distressed upon hearing this.

"It didn't work, the cuff," I told my mom Regina, "Pan made it. It didn't work on him."

"And he couldn't stop one pompous adolescent without losing his life? I've seen him defeat much bigger and more terrifying monsters without ever breaking a sweat! He's turned whole worlds upside down, and he couldn't end a pretty-little-boy without ending himself in the process?"

As my mom was rambling angrily, I saw in my peripheral vision my dad falling. I turned to him and saw that he was very pale and shaking and tears were rolling down his face.

I rushed to him and hugged him tightly.

"What happened?" I asked.

My mom saw us and went silent.

"The only way to end Neverland…" my father choked – he could barely talk, he was so overwhelmed with sadness. "that little boy… oh, papa…"

My dad made a considerable effort to talk. He asked, "is this what you couldn't tell me? Pan — it's him? Is he my grandfather?"

I hugged him tighter in answer, and he sobbed.

Regina looked at me sorrowfully, she looked too uncomfortable to ask what was going on, so I explained some of it to her over my dad's shoulder.

"I saw into his thoughts because I wished it." I continued, explaining to my mom and my dad. "This is how Neverland works. You have to wish something and it comes true. I heard Peter Pan and Mr. Gold talking and I wished I knew more about it. By the time I figured out how Neverland worked, it was too late."

"So this was why he couldn't think straight," my mom mused. "I've never seen him so insecure before. Pan used emotional warfare. It seems that, Gold, being already so traumatized, couldn't win at a game of emotional manipulation."

My mom Regina looked mildly frustrated. "Whenever I think I have him all figured out, I find that I never really knew him at all," she mumbled to herself.

Belle heard the bell jingle and looked up to see Grumpy step in.

"Are you OK? Why are you crying, Belle," Grumpy asked, rushing towards her.

"Henry was here before, and, and… Oh, I'm very happy that Henry and everyone is safe, but, Oh," she sobbed, and Grumpy hugged her.

"Belle," Grumpy looked confused, "why are you crying, nd where is Gold?"

"He's gone!" Belle cried, "he died."

Grumpy moved back in shock, but he kept his arms around Belle. "What are you saying? How is it possible? The Dark One is immortal!"

"No," Belle shook her head. "There are ways. The Dark One's dagger." She pointed at the dagger with her chin.

Grumpy looked at it. "Did someone stab him with it," he asked quietly.

"I don't really know what happened. Henry was too distraught to talk about it, but if Rumple understood the prophacy correctly, well, there were many prophecies, he could see some pieces of the future, you know,"

Grumpy allowed Belle to ramble even though he did not understand what she was trying to say.

The jingle of the little bell made both look up. They saw Henry walk in hesitantly with Regina and Neal.

It was my dad's idea. He wanted to go to his papa's shop. Regina, my mom, wanted to see Belle and to apologize for separating them for the little time they could have had together.

"Henry," Belle breathed. Her eyes were puffy and she looked like she wanted to beg me to tell her how – to tell her more, but she wouldn't ask me. She was afraid that I wasn't ready to talk.

It was very hard for me to look Belle in the eye when I told her what happened, and how the cuff she sent didn't work, and how Gold saved me – all of us – from Pan.

"He could have lived. He could have saved us and lived," my dad ssaid, after he calmed down a little and caught his breath. "We caught a squid together. We had the ink! Pan was immobile and we had Henry. All we had to do was leave Neverland," my dad lamented, "and then I – oh, papa, I'm sorry," my dad was sobbing again.

"What did you do?" My mom Regina asked, and Grumpy gave her a dirty look that said "tactless".

My dad had his face in his hands when he told us how he immobilized his papa after Pan told him about the prophacy. "Why did I believe Pan? Why did I not trust my father?" He looked like his heart was going to burst with regret.

Belle shook her head, "it's not your fault she said, "Rumple knew years ago that he would – look, I used to follow him around in the dark castle… He knew that one day he would have to pay the price."

"What are you saying," Regina asked Belle.

"You see, when Rumple ended the Ogers' war for my father and asked for me, I knew that he never needed a maid. He just snapped his fingers and the castle was spotless. When I saw that, I thought he might want me for other things, but he never demanded anything from me. This puzzled me and I started following him around and noticed that he would talk. I thought he spoke to himself, but then I realized that he had, people; voices in his head. The darkness was with him wherever he went. He complained to it that he hated having me there and considered letting me go…

Rumple looked at the darkness, agitated, "I'll just leave a door open," he said, "like, by mistake."

"Suit yourself," said the darkness, "you will pay an even greater price. Your deeds are accumulating. No good deed will go unpunished. You lost your son for stopping the first Ogers' war."

"I'll find him," Rumple hissed showing his teeth.

"You are not supposed to ever see him again. That's the price."

"A price I am not willing to pay."

"Then you'll pay it in death." The darkness cackled, "you'd better be careful with that dagger of yours. If someone kills you and takes the darkness, you won't just die and rest in peace."

Rumple smirked.

"Oh, I know what you're thinking," the darkness goaded. "It will be a thousand times worse if you do that. You can't end the darkness. It's here to stay. And you can't use it for good anymore. Your punishment will just be more and more severe."

"Well, I'm not paying for this war, am I?" Rumple tried not to lose his cool or look too worried.

"As long as you keep that beauty locked up, you won't," the darkness said. "Since she's already here, why not use her? She seems into you, you know."

Rumple took a step back looking horrified, "don't ever talk that way about her again," he said to the darkness threateningly.

"In the end, he was willing to pay the price and he let me go, but when you locked me up, Regina, you inadvertently saved him from having to pay it, because, technically, I was still not free. I was still paying it myself."

Regina wanted to know something else: "so, all those months you were in his castle.. he never touched you?" Regina was astounded.

"He never did, unless he needed to save me from falling, but he released me right away and stepped away from me, so I wouldn't think he's demanding anything."

"Wow," Grumpy marveled.

"I think I intimidated him a little with my increasingly intimate advances," Belle laughed sadly, and then looked down awkwardly and blushed, realizing too late that I was there. And so was my dad.