A/N: Thank you, Sparked to Life and ArdeaSpark, for your reviews and to everyone who followed and favorited.

To answer your questions:

Sparked to Life - Blue's motives will become clearer over to course of this story, but it will be some time before we get there. I will, however give you one hint now: she was telling the truth when she said it wasn't about personal power.

ArdeaSpark - Yes, Dove will show up a few times in this story, although, with the larger cast and Rumple being less reliant on him, he won't be quite a prominent in this as he was in Not According to Plan.

Complications

Chapter 6: Magic

~Catspook

As the Blue Fairy had suggested, Regina had thought over their conversation at length. Really, it was so amusing how the hero types (and their lackeys) played right into her hands. Usually, the Blue Fairy was smarter than that, staying out of Regina's way as much as possible, but Regina knew the fairy had some sort of history with Rumple, and his apparent conversion to 'good guy' had probably thrown her completely. Regina would have to thank him for that.

Not that she would have the chance; he'd be dead before noon.

And just when he thought he'd won, too. Apparently, someone (Regina suspected Jefferson) had let his little maid out of her cell, and they'd had a perfectly saccharine reunion. Enough so, in fact, to make the dear Savior suspicious of the sweetness of it. But she'd gone along with Rumple's plans anyway, and, thanks to the maid, discovered that Sydney was alive and well under the hospital. She'd then come back to the Sheriff's station to lecture Regina on some nonsense about abusing the trust of people who cared for her (as if anyone other than Daniel and her father ever really had), and held up Rumple, of all people - Rumple! - as an example of a (possibly) reformed villain. The lecture had been intensely irritating at the time, but had given Regina an idea the next day, when Snow came by to give her a slightly less crass version of the same damn lecture.

Under the guise of remorse, Regina had convinced Snow to bring Sydney to the Sheriff's Station so that Regina could apologize to him. Which she actually did, but only so he'd follow the orders she slipped to him. Sydney was her Magic Mirror, and it was time to bring the magic to Storybrooke.

Leroy didn't trust Gold as far as he could throw him. How did a nice girl like Belle ever fall for that monster anyway? It wasn't fair. The bastard had stomped on her heart once, and she'd gone right back to him as soon as she'd had the chance. Nova wouldn't give Leroy the time of day.

But he couldn't blame her, not really. He'd left her, and he'd refused to answer when she'd asked if the Blue Fairy had been involved. She'd known there was something off about Blue, and he'd been too taken in by Blue's bullshit to listen. Well, at least she was away from that whole mess. He owed Red and Granny for that for sure, and Belle had been sweet as pie about it too, while they were waiting for the Snow, Charming, and Emma to get the potion from Maleficent. Nova was going to be all right; that was the important thing.

As soon as they got through this. Leroy didn't trust Gold not to pull a fast one, and he'd be damned if he let it happen, especially with Nova in the middle of it. At least they had Charming too. Two against one, and Gold with no magic? Leroy could live with those odds.

So far, the bastard hadn't made a move. They were starting with the northern point, and had entered the woods, going slowly in deference to Gold's limp and Nova's… tendency to stumble on uneven ground. Leroy and Charming both made sure to keep themselves between Nova and Gold, a fact which Leroy was sure Gold noticed, but didn't comment on.

Suddenly, there was a gunshot, then a second one. Nova screamed. Gold collapsed. Leroy raised his axe, then fell as a third bullet ripped through his left thigh. He shouted (he did not scream), and immediately applied pressure to the wound. He knew enough from Doc's lectures that you could bleed out quickly from leg wounds if they hit certain arteries. The pain was incredible, but Leroy was more worried about Nova.

"Dreamy!" she screamed, trying to run for him.

"Stop right there," Sydney Glass (that damned Magic Mirror!) said, his gun pointed at Nova. She froze. Good girl. "You," he said to Charming. "Your gun and sword, on the ground. Now. Or I blow her head off."

"Do it, Charming," Leroy growled. He assumed Glass was here for the potion. He could have the damn thing, if only he'd let Nova go.

Thankfully, Charming did as he was told. "His gun and phone too," Glass said, tilting his head at Gold, who was gasping on the ground, bleeding from two holes in his abdomen. One looked like it might have pierced his lower lung, and the other his belly. He wasn't going to die quickly. Or without a fight, as it seemed he was grasping for the gun Glass had just told Charming to take. But he was no match for Charming, who - thank God - wasn't about to risk Nova's life. Looking mulish, Charming took the gun and phone and tossed them towards Glass. Glass, his barrel still aimed at Nova, stomped on the phone then carefully picked up both guns, slipping them into his waistband. I hope you blow you nuts off, you bastard.

"Now, the potion," he said. His expression grim, Charming leaned over Gold again, taking the potion from his jacket pocket. Gold tried to fight him, but without magic, he wouldn't stand a chance on the best of days, let alone with two bullets in him.

Charming said something to Gold, but Leroy couldn't hear. "Hurry up," Glass said. "The sooner we bring the magic back, the sooner I can let her go."

"And me?" Charming asked.

"Regina's going to want you."

"Of course," Charming sighed. "You don't have to do this, you know. She doesn't care about you. She never has."

Shut up, Charming! "Shut up. You don't know her. None of you so-called 'heroes' ever have. Now give me the potion." Charming did. "Check him for a phone too."

"I don't have one," Leroy said, but didn't protest the pat-down Charming gave him.

"I'll send help," Charming whispered as he searched Leroy's pockets.

"Don't worry about me, Charming; just take care of her."

"That's right," Glass said. "You do what I say, and the girl will be fine."

"No phone," Charming said standing up slowly.

"Then march, both of you."

"Dreamy-" Nova said tearfully.

"Just do what he says, Nova," Leroy said. "You'll be fine."

"What about you?"

"It's just a flesh wound; I'll be fine too." I hope. "Go on."

"Hurry up," Glass said again.

Nova gave him a heartbroken look, one he'd seen before. But this time, she was the one walking away. Leroy watched her until they were out of sight, then listened, hoping like hell not to hear another gunshot. He didn't. All he could hear was the wind in the trees and Gold's ragged breathing. After a minute or two, Leroy dragged himself over to Gold, yanked off his jacket, and wadded it up the best he could with one hand, pressing it against the holes in Gold's belly. Leroy still didn't trust the man, but he couldn't call himself Belle's friend if he just lay there let her… guy bleed to death without doing a damn thing about it.

As promised, there was plenty for Belle to help with. She seemed to find the crowd a bit overwhelming, however, so Emma quickly shuffled her off to a table near the Town Hall, where they were alphabetizing photographs and contact information for people who were looking for their loved ones.

That had been Emma's idea, Archie had explained to Bae. As people were waiting to have sketches made of people they were searching for, Ruby (or whoever was doing the job at the time) would take their picture and contact information, and it would be posted for people to check in case the person they were seeking was already seeking them. Several families had been reunited that way already, and it was faster than waiting for sketches to me made, especially when August, one of the fairies, and now Bae were the only ones available to draw them.

The fairy looked at Baelfire nervously, but August smiled and waved. "Hey!"

"Hey," Bae replied. The woman August was speaking to gave Bae an odd look, but August immediately drew her back into the conversation they'd been having, and she seemed to forget about him quickly enough.

Bae already had his backpack, which contained his drawing supplies, and Archie helped him get set up before introducing him to his first person. It was Tina from the grocery store. "It's Tiana, actually. What's your real name?"

"Baelfire. But you can still call me Bae."

She smiled. "You're the first person I've met whose names were as close as mine were. Is Mr. Gold your real father?"

"Yes." He looked away. "Is that a problem?"

"Will you help me?"

"If I can."

"Then it's not a problem. I'm looking for my fiancé. His name in Naveen."

Bae let out the nervous breath he'd been holding. "What's he look like?"

It was easy to get lost in the task. For a while, he was even able to forget that Tiana had only been ripped from her fiancé because Papa had made it happen. The worst part was that Bae did not regret it as much as he should. As hurt and angry as he was, as much as he knew it was wrong, if Papa had not done what he'd done Bae would still be in Neverland, and whatever else he felt Bae was just so grateful to be out of there. It was selfish, and it was wrong, but Bae couldn't help it. Maybe if he helped fix some of what his father had broken, Bae could live with himself.

When he was done of his sketch of Naveen ("Prince Naveen," Tiana had told him somewhat wryly), she thanked him and got up. She was quickly replaced by a large man wearing a sling on his left arm. Without preamble, he said, "You're Gold's son."

"Yes," Bae replied warily. The jacket the man was wearing had the Game of Thorns logo embroidered on the breast, and Bae quickly realized whom he was talking to. "You're Mr. French."

"Sir Maurice," he man said, "Can you tell me, boy, does Gold have a woman locked up in his house?"

"What?"

"A woman. Petite, pretty. Blue eyes and brown hair. Her name is Belle. She's my daughter."

"Belle is your daughter?"

"You know her?" he asked, grabbing Bae's shoulder, "Please, you have to tell me where she is!"

Confused, Bae looked towards the board where Ruby and Belle were posting photographs. "Over there, with Ruby."

The man sighed and dropped his hand, then rushed over to Belle. "Belle!"

"Father!" Belle shouted with a smile.

"You're all right, my girl!"

"Yes, what happened to your arm?"

"It doesn't matter. I'm here to take you home."

"Home? I'm staying with Rumplestiltskin."

"No, you're not. There are no ogres here; you don't owe him a damn thing."

"Father, no; I'm staying with him because I love him."

Maurice gasped. "He's bewitched you."

"No!"

"Don't worry; we'll fix it." He grabbed for Belle, and Bae stood up, ready to intervene, but Ruby was closer.

"Hey! Back off, I don't like Gold either, but-"

"What is that?" someone shouted, and people turned.

A wall of purple smoke, taller than the tree line, was coming right towards them. Bae knew what it was: magic. "I knew it! I knew it!" He broke his promise. Again. In a panic, Bae grabbed his backpack and ran. The expensive collection of pencils his father had given him for his birthday lay abandoned on the table.

Leroy was pretty sure Gold was dead. He'd gone unconscious fairly quickly, and his labored breathing had become weaker and weaker until Leroy couldn't hear it anymore. He didn't dare move either of his hands to check for a pulse, though, so he just stayed where he was, hoping he wouldn't bleed out too. And that he wouldn't have to be the one to explain to Belle that Gold hadn't made it.

Then he saw the smoke. There was nowhere to run (not that he would get very far with a bullet lodged in his thigh) so he did the only thing he could; he hunched down over Gold's prone body and prayed like hell that the wall of magic heading towards them wouldn't send them somewhere nasty like the last one had.

It didn't. The smoke cleared, and not a branch was out of place. Suddenly, Gold started coughing. "Woah!" Right. Magic. Dark One. This is not going to be pretty.

Gold's right hand came up and clamped onto Leroy's wrist, trying to force his hand away. "Stop that; I'm applying pressure. Do you want to bleed out?" Gold only pushed harder, his left hand joining his right. "OK, fine; but if you die, I'm telling Belle it was your fault."

Gold just kept coughing, pushing the wadded up jacket away, and revealing the two bullet holes that started bleeding like faucets as soon as the pressure was removed. His right hand started glowing purple, and Grumpy had been in enough battles to recognize healing magic when he saw it. Oh. Duh.

Gold made an odd noise, and rolled his right hand as conjurers do. Two dented, bloodied bullets dropped from his hand and fell to the ground. Then he slapped his hand onto one of the wounds. When he moved on to the next, Leroy could see the first had stopped bleeding. As Gold worked on the second, his breathing improved, so by the time he'd finished and started sitting up, he was back to his wordy, arrogant self.

"Regina really should learn not to hire incompetents to murder for her, especially if she intends to send them after me. Move your hand."

"What?"

"Your hand. You do want to keep that leg, don't you?"

"You're gonna heal me? Why?"

"Aside from the fact that I owe you for attempting to save my life, you're my witness to my son that this," he gestured violently, "Was not my idea."

"How do I know it wasn't?"

Gold stared at him. "Do you really think I would stake my life on Sydney Glass' marksmanship? Besides, if the curse breaking did not attract Pan's attention, this most certainly did!"

"And how do I know you don't want that?"

"Because he wants my son, you sodden dwarf! Now move your hand, or I might just leave you here and hope that Charming and your little fairy will be enough to convince Bae, assuming they are both still alive!"

"You're going after them?"

"Of course I am! Did you really think I would let Glass get away with this?"

"All right." He moved his hand; no way in hell was he going to let the Dark One go after Nova alone, especially now that he had magic. He might decide Charming was enough and leave Nova to die, or he might just lose it and kill both of them to get to Glass.

The healing was what Grumpy would call 'quick and dirty', but it got the job done. His leg still ached, but he could use it, so he hauled himself to his feet and gathered his axe and Charming's sword. Gold picked up his cane, then waved his hand, vanishing the blood that had pooled on the ground and soaked Leroy's jacket - but not the stains that marred the rest of the their clothes. "You cleaned the ground but not us? What the hell?"

"Best not leave the blood of the Dark One lying around. Regina could do nasty things with it."

"Nasty for you, or nasty for us?"

"Both. Now hurry, unless you'd like to find your fairy dead; To Regina and thus Glass, she is the more disposable of the two."

Leroy didn't need to be told twice.

"What was that?" Emma demanded, looking around at the anxious crowd. She took Henry's hand to make sure they wouldn't get separated if the crowd started to panic. At least nothing seemed damaged, and she spotted Mary Margaret and Ruby making the same sort of assessments.

"It was magic," August called, pushing though the crowd towards her. He was moving much more easily than he had been the past few days.

"August, are you…?"

"Human? No." He pulled off the glove he'd been wearing over his left hand. What had been one solid piece of wood was now fully articulated, and he rolled his fingers to show her that he could. "But I can move. Someone must have used the potion to bring the magic, like Blue said."

"Gold?"

"Maybe, but after the fit Blue pitched, my guess would be her. Or someone working for her."

Emma snorted. "Yeah, sounds like her; get someone else to do the dirty work. She really has more in common with Regina than she thinks." Looking pained, August nodded.

Emma saw that Mary Margaret was already on the phone and assumed she was calling David. "I'm going to try Gold's cell." It went straight to voicemail. "Crap. Mary Margaret, are you getting David?" she shouted.

Dismayed, Mary Margaret shook her head. She jogged over, telling them, "He's not picking up."

"Gold's went right to voicemail."

"You see?" Moe French said, grabbing for Belle again, "He's behind this! He's a monster!"

"No, he's not!" Belle objected, backing away from him. Ruby stepped between them.

"Just calm down. We don't know what happened-"

"Everybody knows what he is! With the Queen imprisoned, who but the Dark One would do this?"

"The Blue Fairy," August said bitterly. "She's not the saint everyone thinks she is."

Moe laughed, "You must be mad. The Blue Fairy is good, the Dark One is evil, and this is clearly evil at work!"

Emma really wished Moe would shut up. Aside from how it was upsetting Belle, he was agitating an already tense crowd. "Look!" she shouted. "We don't know exactly what happened, but so far no one is hurt, and I want to keep it that way. Everyone, just keep calm, and we'll get to the bottom of this. I'm going to take a team into the woods-"

"We're coming!" several dwarves volunteered; she gathered that it had unsettled them that Leroy had gone with David and Gold without them.

"Fine. Mary Margaret, you're our point person; I'll call you when we find something."

She looked upset at not going after David herself, but she was the closest thing to a Mayor Storybrooke had now, and she was by far the best at placating a crowd. "OK."

"Henry, you stay with Mary Margaret."

Also looking disappointed, Henry nodded. "OK."

"Someone should make sure Regina is still in her cell," Ruby said.

"I'll do it," Granny said, lifting the crossbow Emma had been too tired to argue with her about before. Now she was glad that she hadn't.

"Good, but take someone with you." Emma leaned over and whispered so the crowd couldn't hear, "If magic is back, that means she could have her powers."

"I ain't afraid of her, girl, but if you insist. Come on, Red."

"OK. Belle, are you going to be all right?" Ruby asked, giving Moe the eye.

"I'm fine. Bae and I will-" she looked around. "Bae? Baelfire?!"

Dammit.

Bae didn't know how much time he had, but remembering what it was to be on the streets with nothing, he knew he couldn't leave town without at least the allowance money he'd been hoarding in the shoebox at the back of his closet. The house wasn't far, and soon he was at the front door, fumbling with the lock. The piece of pipe on his keyring caught his eye. Lies. All lies. He was never going to give up his power.

He tore up the stairs, yanking his bedroom door open. He dumped his schoolbooks on the bed, but kept the laptop; it was both valuable and useful. Then he grabbed the money, followed by a change of clothes and his comb. He swung by the bathroom the grab his toothbrush, a towel, and a bar of soap. Back on the first floor, he took his heavy coat from the closet by the stairs. Last was the kitchen, where he raided the knife and utility drawers, coming away with two of the best knives, a flashlight, and several boxes of matches. Finally, he rifled though the cabinets, taking a box of granola bars and a can of mixed nuts. He left by the kitchen door and headed into the woods. It would take a bit longer to reach the road out of town this way, but he would be harder to find. I hope.

David was trying to figure out the best way to get the guns away from Glass without endangering Nova, but so far the solution had eluded him. Why couldn't he have used a sword? I'm good with swords.

Glass had forced Nova to drop the potion in the well, and now insisted they simply wait for Regina to arrive. As the minutes ticked by, the genie turned mirror turned reporter grew increasingly anxious, and David was hoping he'd make a mistake David could exploit instead of simply losing patience and shooting Nova anyway. The fairy was terrified and unable to hide it, and it was putting Glass on edge. The phone call David had received earlier - probably from Snow - hadn't helped matters. His phone was now in pieces on the ground, just like Gold's.

"Stop crying!" Glass snapped, shaking Nova roughly. "Regina won't like it!" While true (Regina despised all displays of weakness) Glass' shouting only made Nova cry harder.

"I'm sure Grumpy's OK," David said, hoping that might help calm her down. He shuddered to think what Regina would do if she arrived to find Nova in this state; tears were blood in the water to her.

Suddenly, there was a shimmer of light, and Glass froze. David looked towards the sound of crunching leaves and saw Gold and Leroy, blood-stained, but on their feet. Rumplestiltskin was smirking at Glass, and his left hand was extended in what was obviously a magical gesture. "Hello, dearie."

"Dreamy!" Nova sobbed. Grumpy smiled.

"You all right, sister?"

Nodding frantically, she hugged him tightly, heedless of the axe and sword he was carrying. David helpfully took his sword back, and Grumpy had a free hand to hold her with. Gold, efficient as always, was already relieving the magically frozen Glass of all firearms. He offered David's to him without a word, blazing eyes fixed on Glass.

"Thanks. You, ah, all right?"

"It takes more than couple of bullets to end the Dark One, dearie. Now, back to town with you," he told Glass, "And won't your mistress be so very pleased that you didn't wait to see if I was actually dead before you brought magic to Storybrooke? After all, Regina is so very forgiving of those who fail her."

The Dark One twitched his fingers, and Glass stumbled forward, eyes wide with fear. "Wait-"

Gold leveled Glass' own gun at him. "No. I've business in town. March, unless you'd prefer to make the journey as something less… bipedal."

"You're not going to kill me?"

"You're more use to me alive; I suggest you remain so. March. Now."

Glass did. David kept pace with Gold, Grumpy and Nova following behind. "You're bleeding!" Nova suddenly exclaimed.

"Naw, Gold healed me up. That's from before."

"What was your price?" David asked immediately.

"His testimony to Bae that I was not the one who brought magic here. And, forthright hero that you are, I expect the same from you. And the fairy."

"Of course," Nova said. "Thank you."

Gold sneered. "No thanks needed, only the truth. And do not embellish; Bae will know if you do."

She nodded, but then turned back to Leroy. "You're limping. Does it hurt?"

Immediately, Grumpy shifted himself to hide the limp. "I'm fine, sister; it's nothing."

"You're sure it doesn't hurt? I thought he'd killed you!"

"Aw, this is nothing. It doesn't hurt at all." She gave him a concerned, suspicious look. "Well, maybe a little."

"Oh," she fussed. Gold rolled his eyes. David chucked silently.

But there was business to attend to. "I don't suppose you have any plans for Regina?" David asked Gold.

"Oh, I'd thought I'd leave that to you and Snow White. Unless she targets Bae or Belle, of course - then I will kill her."

"You… really?" Frankly, David was already surprised Rumplestiltskin hadn't simply killed Glass instead of subduing him; he assumed his 'use' for the reporter had to do with taking revenge on Regina.

"Neither Bae nor Belle are… tolerant of revenge. Besides, I have larger prey, and Regina's little stunt has disrupted my plans."

"The Shadow?"

Gold growled, "Yes."

"Can't you just put up those barriers anyway?" Leroy asked. "You're… you."

Gold laughed humorlessly. "I am indeed 'me', but magic is different here. As you see." He inclined his head, indicating his still human appearance. Oh. "And in any world, you might say that light magic is not my strong suit. I can conjure barriers, certainly, but dark against dark is not as effective as light against dark."

"So what are you going to do?" David asked.

"Whatever I need to."

David didn't like the sound of that. "Can you make another potion? If it's for Henry, Snow and I would agree."

"I'm afraid that one couple's True Love can only be bottled once. I could make a new potion with a different pair, but the base of it must be brewed for three cycles of full moon to full moon, and the next cycle does not begin for three weeks."

"So you can have the barrier up in fifteen weeks?"

"And no sooner."

"Do you know of another pair?"

"Considering the intended purpose, Henry and Emma would be the ideal candidates." Of course.

"You said magic is different; will that affect Regina too?"

"Most certainly. I imagine she is still in her cell and will remain there for some time; without the catalyst of being shot, I doubt even my powers would have returned as quickly as they did."

"Almost dying helped you?" Grumpy asked incredulously.

"Yes. My powers are very… protective of their bearer."

"What about the fairy dust?" Nova asked. "Without it, fairies have no magic."

"I'm aware. Considering how adamant Reul Ghorm was that the potion be used this way, I would be very surprised if diamonds did not start growing in the mines. In fact, I find it rather suspicious that the curse created the mines to begin with; Regina certainly had no use for them, short of the cavern in which she trapped Maleficent."

"You think Blue is behind this?" Grumpy demanded.

"I think it would be prudent to ask Regina how she knew to have Glass throw the potion in the well. I do not recall revealing that little detail to anyone."

"I will," David said grimly.

"Someone's got to stop her," Leroy said.

Yes, but how?

David knew how to battle villains. He didn't know how to battle someone who, up until two days ago, had been universally known as the original power for good in the Enchanted Forest. Of everything, that was the most disorienting part of being in this new world; how was he supposed to know the right thing to do when he could not even trust himself to know good from evil?

Gold said nothing, just walked on, his face grim. It occurred to David that if Grumpy were hurting, Gold probably was too. He's leaning on that cane pretty hard. "We can slow down," David offered.

"No," Gold snarled, "We can't." He even picked up the pace.

"I'm sure Bae and Belle are fine."

"I'm sure you're an imbecile."

"Hey!" Grumpy objected.

Gold ignored him. David figured that, in this case, discretion was the better part of valor. "It's OK, Leroy." Besides, any idiot could see that Rumplestiltskin was frightened. It was unnerving; David had never thought that he was human enough to fear anything, let alone for another person. For everyone's sake, I hope Bae and Belle are all right.

They trudged on in tense silence until they reached the town proper. One look at Gold pointing a gun at Glass, and another at Leroy's blood-soaked jeans (Gold, David had noticed, was still covered with blood as well, but his dark suit hid it much more effectively than Leroy's faded denim), and the residents of Storybrooke scattered like chickens.

David was able to wave down one brave soul with a cell phone in order to call Snow. He kept it brief, as Gold simply kept walking, and David wasn't about to let him out of his sight. "She'll meet us on the way," he called, jogging to catch up.

"Good."

Even better, Belle was with them. Unfortunately, Bae was not. "Belle," Gold said, passing off the gun to David, "Are you all right?" She looked nervous but nodded. "Where's Bae?"

Her eyes flicked down and she gasped, "Rumple, you're bleeding!"

"Never mind that, where's Bae?"

"Rumple-"

"Please, Belle, where is he?" Gold looked like he was about to start panicking, and that did not bode well for anyone.

"I'm so sorry, Rumple," she said, "But he ran away. We don't know where he is."

"He… you… YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO WATCH HIM!" the Dark One roared.

Almost everyone took a step back. Belle didn't, although she cringed. "I'm sorry," she said tearfully, "I checked the house; he was there, but gone before I reached it. Can you find him with magic?"

"Magic…" Horror replaced rage. "The town line." He made a gesture, and suddenly David, Grumpy, Nova, and Rumplestiltskin appeared on the road out of town in a cloud of purple smoke. As the smoke cleared, David saw Bae several yards ahead, looking back at them with the same expression of horror Rumplestiltskin has worn just a moment before. "Bae, wait!" Gold cried, reaching out for his son.

"No, no… Stay away from me!"

"Bae, please! I didn't do this! It was Sydney Glass, on Regina's orders!"

"It's true, Bae," David said. "Glass found us in the woods, he shot your Dad and Leroy, and took Nova and me hostage. He made Nova drop the potion into the wishing well, because Regina told him to."

"That's right, kid," Leroy grunted, and Nova nodded earnestly. Bae looked at Leroy, and David saw the furrow in his brow as he took in the blood. Then he looked at Gold, and David could see that he saw the blood there too.

He shook his head. "No… this is a trick. That's what he does; he lies."

"It's not a lie," David said.

"Please, Bae," Gold called again, desperately, "I didn't do this; let me prove it to you. I'll do anything. I'll… I'll give you the dagger."

Bae jumped back as if burned. Gold gasped to see him take that one step closer to the town line. "I don't want it!" Bae protested, terrified by the very idea.

"Please listen, Bae," David tried again. "Your Dad didn't do this. It was Sydney Glass and Regina."

Bae shook his head. "How do I know he's not just making you say that? He can do that, you know."

Gold looked stricken. Leroy gave him a considering look, then sucker-punched the pawnbroker in the face. Rumplestiltskin cried out, and a backlash of magic blasted Grumpy off his feet into the ditch.

"Dreamy!" Nova cried.

Grumpy sat up immediately, shaking his head like a dog shaking off water and grinning like a fool. "Worth it."

Rumplestiltskin was clutching his nose. A purple glow flared for a moment, and David presumed he was healing himself. When he removed his hand, his nose looked undamaged, though there was blood in his lip. "See," David said before Gold could, "He's not controlling us."

"Please," Gold repeated, his voice thick with desperation, "Bae, I don't know what crossing that line could do to you."

"Take me away from magic," the boy said, taking another small step back.

"Bae, this magic, it's tied to the curse. You were cursed. There could be side effects."

"Like what?" Bae scoffed, disbelieving.

"I don't know. Bae, please, Pan is out there!" He's terrified. Rumplestiltskin is terrified for his son.

Baelfire was terrified too. Terrified enough of Pan that that argument was enough to sway him when nothing else had. After an unbearable pause, Bae asked, "You'll give me the dagger?"

"Yes. Bae, just stay, please." Horrified, David realized that Rumplestiltskin was crying.

Baelfire was shaking, but he walked towards his father with slow deliberate steps. "Do it then."

Rumplestiltskin let out a sharp sigh of relief. "You'll stay?"

"Just do it." It was a test.

Rumplestiltskin passed. A small swirl of purple smoke, and a large dagger inscribed with Rumplestiltskin's name appeared in his left hand. His right still gripped his cane, knuckles white with fear. Hesitantly, he presented the dagger to his son.

Baelfire reached for the dagger as if it physically pained him to do it, his hand shaking terribly. He held his hand just above the hilt, fingers poised as if to take it. No one moved. After a long, tense moment, Bae withdrew his hand, leaving the dagger where it was. "Get it out of my sight," he said.

"Bae-"

"I'll go with you, just get it out of my sight!" Another swirl of smoke, and the dagger vanished. Rumplestiltskin reached out for his son, but the boy flinched violently. "Don't touch me!"

Rumplestiltskin snatched his hand back immediately. Not saying a word, arms crossed, shoulders hunched, Bae pushed past him on his way back down the road. After a moment, Rumplestiltskin followed. David let him walk a few steps before following himself. He was ashamed to admit it, but he couldn't bear to look at the expression on Rumplestiltskin's face.

I didn't even think he was human.

I really need to read the rest of Henry's Book.