Disclaimer: I don't own OUAT.

Sudoku - The scene is "real". The scenes of Zoso are more like memories.. because the beggar is the spiritual counterpart of Zoso. The beggar contained "memories" that could only be "viewed" by another magical being. It's kind of like those "flashbacks" OUAT shows (they end the Storybrooke scene, switch to the fairy tale scene...).

Don't kill me for failing to update! AHHH! *is buried under angry mob of faithful followers*

*pointless rambling* I... had writer's block, and after rereading my seven chapters multiple times I realized I should actually continue this. There are so few good, multi-chaptered Swan Fire stories ... no offense.


Magic has (Deadly) Consequences

Gold grabbed Henry and rushed him towards to what he hoped was Baelfire's apartment. As the two rushed inside, Gold heard two voices arguing. One voice was feminine, clearly Emma's. The other was a deeper, masculine voice. Gold closed his eyes and hoped that this voice would belong to his son. The world would meet a deadly demise if he had been leading himself into a pointless wild goose chase.

"Neal," Gold heard Emma sigh. "This isn't about us. This is about Henry."

Gold was quickly rushing towards the room where the two were arguing. He felt Henry stumble but continued to gently drag the boy along. Two steps later, Gold heard a dull thump. He focused his Baelfire-driven vision towards Henry.

The boy's finger had turned into a dangerously dark indigo shade with rings of gold sparkles around it. The color had began to spread from his left index finger to his elbow. The rest of the arm that had not been effected by the magical poison had began to take up a pale violet hue with navy blue streaks and pale pink magical sparkles roaming around the uninfected area.

Henry's face had turned a sickly shade of white and he stared at Gold in alarm.

"Wh...az," he wheezed, "gooo-ing oon?"

Gold quickly bent down and shook Henry's shoulders. "Henry," he whispered harshly, "you best stop talking now. Who knows what this magic might do to you. As soon as we get you to Emma and extract some magic from her, you will be cured. Now stay calm, be quiet, and whatever you do...continue walking."

Henry closed his eyes and grimaced in pain as a quarter of his uninfected arm quickly became infected with the magical poison.

"W-wun't that...hurt my mom?" Gold shook his head and put a finger to Henry's lips.

"Shush, Henry." Gold quickly got up and clutched the boy as best as he could with one hand. He grabbed his cane and continued his fast walk towards Emma and "Neal".


"Neal," Emma sighed, "this isn't about us. This is about Henry."

"Emma," Neal shot back, "let's do a recap, shall we? First, you knock on my door and ask me if I'm Baelfire from the Enchanted Forest. I tell you yes, you break down and start mumbling around my father's girlfriend and God knows what else. Then you tell me you have a son!"

"I didn't tell you! You pressed me for that information!"

"Because you're a poor liar! You would've told me later on. I know you, Emma Swan."

Emma rolled her eyes and put her hands on her hip. "Whatever," she mumbled. "I know I'm not a poor liar. What other words sound reasonable that start with the two letters S and O?"

"Oh, I don't know! You could've said something like, 'I found my solid ground in Storybrooke. I'm going to stay there for the rest of my life.' That starts with S and O and it sounds reasonable, too!"

"Neal, you're being ridiculous!" Emma yelled. She threw her arms up in exasperation and let them audibly slam back to her torso.

"Am I, Emma? Am I? I mean, just look around. I spent eleven years regretting the fact that I had to leave you. Do you understand how that felt?"

"No, Neal, I don't understand and I definitely don't want to. The fact is, you don't understand how much it hurt for me. I was waiting for you in Tallahassee but you never showed. I waited for you, and you never showed."

Neal stared at the floor quickly looking quite downcast. "I'm... sorry, Emma."

"I'm sorry too, Neal, because you gave me something I will never forget."

"What's that?" Neal pulled his gaze upward from the floor to Emma's fiery hazel eyes.

"You gave me the fact that you can't trust somebody even if you think you know them so well," she snarled. Neal sighed and ran his fingers through his hair.

"Look, Emma... I'm re-"

Neal was quickly cut off as Gold rushed into the room, pulling a half darkly shaded Henry behind him. "Miss Swan," Gold breathed, "your son has caught some magical poison. He touched something he shouldn't have and the only way to cure him is if we use your magic to save him."

"Wait, Emma... you have magic?" Neal stared at Emma with bewilderment and betrayal.

"Neal, this isn't the time!" Emma said harshly. She stared at Gold evenly and took a deep breath. She closed her eyes and reopened them, only to find that only a little more than a quarter of Henry was still uninfected by the magic.

"What do we have to do?" she whispered slowly.

"Well, I will extract some of your magic and quickly insert it into Henry and voila! He will be cured!" Gold said, still retaining his wicked Dark One presence.

"Will I still have magic?"

"Why do you care if you still have magic?" Neal yelled. "Our son is in danger and you care if you still have magic left in you?!"

Emma pointedly ignored Neal and quirked an eyebrow towards Gold.

"Why, dearie, you'll still have your magic and you'll still be able to use it!"

"I sense a 'but' in this," Emma deadpanned. She kept a stoic face while Gold let out a soft chuckle.

"There is no 'but' in this, Miss Swan."

"What? There isn't?" Neal said. He stared at his father in a strange awe.

"There is no 'but'. Miss Swan will keep her magic. Extracting her magic just means she is allowing another person to use her magic. It is just like me, performing spells. Nothing is taken away or destroyed."

Emma closed her eyes and noticed only Henry's end of the elbow remained uninfected, the other end with his right hand.

"Let's do this then," she said fiercely. "Let's save my son."


Let's just point out the fact that next week's episode of OUAT is the Season Finale and I've been a terrible updater. Also, this chapter is inexcusably short.

My excuse of writer's block (which technically isn't an excuse) is a terrible one, at first glance, but it's true. I haven't been updating most of my stories but I promise I'll continue updating this one. Also, personal issues have also been keeping me at bay from updating.

I hope this chapter fulfills all your current needs. o_o

Anyways, R&R!